Dangerous Mind
by Exiled-Knight
Summary: AU: What if the Teen Titans weren't real, but disillusions in the mind of a teenage boy suffering from the mental illness zoanthropy? PG-13 for future death. Feedback is extremely welcome. [Finished]
1. Chapter 1: An Average Day

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, or any of the medical jargon/conditions/procedures. I hope you enjoy the first chapter of the story._

_Disclaimer II: I am not a doctor, nor am I out of high school;therefore, all theories and practices performed in accordance to zoanthropy are conjectures I have made after researching. _

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_**Dangerous Mind**_

"The time is 11:04 in the morning. Patient 11456783 appears to have finished reading the book on tigers which was administered to him at approximately 9:00 this morning. 11456783 has begun to succumb to another apparent delusion from the reading. This marks the third such experience today."

The man gently pushed the button on the recorder and squatted down close to the bed in the corner of the room. His face was close to a foot from the young man's on the bed. Wishfully he stared through his glasses into the vacant green eyes before him. The man smiled as patient 11456783 made pawing motions with his hands and began to purr and growl softly.

* * *

Beast Boy watched in horror as Plasmus launched his leader into a steel pole. Robin's head limply fell so that his chin was resting against his chest. With a sudden rush of adrenaline, coupled with rage, the changeling morphed into a large green tiger. He vigorously slashed at Plasmus with his claws; every stroke caused another layer of his purple, gooey flesh to go flying through the air. 

Plasmus reached out a newly regenerated hand and grasped Beast Boy. The creature attempted a laugh as he threw the Titan on the floor in front of his leader. Upon impact Beast Boy returned to his normal shape, but once he caught sight of Plasmus making his way towards him, the changeling once again took on the shape of the magnificent tiger.

He growled and clawed, pounced, bit, and rammed into the giant blob over and over again, but nothing seemed to work. With each attack Plasmus seemed to increase in strength and thwart the changeling's attempts. Just as hope was falling from his sight, Robin leapt from his position, and aided by Starfire, somersaulted through the air and threw several bird-a-rangs at the blob. Alongside Robin's attack, Starfire shot dozens of her green star bolts.

Beast Boy watched in amazement as the two successfully brought the purple blob down to a tiny puddle of oozing glop. With the victory, Starfire flew down to Robin and lightly kissed his cheek.

* * *

The nurse carefully opened the door to the room, and shut it equally so. For a moment she stood and gazed at the scene before her. It always amazed her just how much the doctor was fascinated by the young man on the bed. Currently the black-haired physician was squatting with his thumbs holding up his chin and his index fingers brushing his lips. Every so often he would tilt slightly backwards in order to avoid the path of the young man's hand pawing at the air. 

A gentle peck on his cheek pulled the doctor from his observations. He smiled at the red-haired nurse.

"Hello there, Star."

The nurse smiled at the way he spoke her name. "Doctor Grayson." Uncertain of what to say to the doctor, she turned her attention to 11456783. "What is he today?"

Doctor Grayson raised his left index finger as a signal to hold on a second or two for his reply. He then carefully lifted up the top end of the pillow under the patient's head and extracted a tattered book. Turning it so the nurse could see the cover he said, "Tigers." Star nodded in understanding and stared, along with the doctor, down at the still purring boy.

She had witnessed many different patients during the years that she had worked in the institution, but never before had she come across a case such as this. Each day was a different "adventure," Doctor Grayson enjoyed calling it. It had become a game of theirs to find various books on animals and give them to 11456783 to read. Like clockwork, he would begin to act like the animal he had just immersed himself in information about. Eventually after a month or two of them doing this, the young man began to draw others into his hallucinations. Every Tuesday the doctor would give him a piece of paper and some crayons and ask the boy to draw. At first all he drew were the various animals, all of which had his face. But then he began to incorporate the nurse and the doctor into the drawings. He had created the characters of Starfire and Robin so that he could have a team to supposedly save the world. The doctor often admitted to the nurse that he had never seen a case involving the boy's disorder, but then again, he wasn't complaining.

"So are we on for this weekend?" Star jerked back from the sudden comment and eagerly shook her head in the affirmative. The doctor smiled, "Great, now how about we take him for a walk?"

* * *

"Where are we going? Where are we going?" The green changeling was jumping up and down with ignorant excitement. 

Robin shook his head slightly and walked casually past the boy. With the option of Robin answering completely defeated, Beast Boy turned his attention to Starfire. He morphed into a small kitten and weaved in and out between her legs. The red-haired girl had to stop walking in order not to trip over the ball of fur rubbing against her calves.

She smiled broadly down at his form. "I am sorry, Beast Boy, but I can not tell you the site of our destination."

The boy changed back into his normal form and, with a heavy sigh, continued to follow the Boy Wonder to wherever he was headed. Normally the changeling would have just stayed back at the tower and played some video games, but Robin had sincerely convinced him that he would enjoy the walk and, especially, the destination. Plus, Cyborg had given Beast Boy the mission of watching Robin and Starfire and reporting any 'unusual' behavior.

Since nothing exciting was going on between the two teammates ahead of him, Beast Boy allowed his eyes to roam over the surroundings. There were a few trees with branches sporadically dotted by green leaves, the occasional shrub would sprout into the path of the boy, but mostly, there were just rocks.

A soft chanting tore the changeling's mind from the boring terrain. He smiled as he discovered the source of the melody.

* * *

The trio halted in front of the open doors to one of the various lounges in the commons area. Inside, a young volunteer was attempting a new procedure with the patients. She sat cross-legged on a table and instructed the people before her to follow suit, find their center, and forget everything else in their mind. Only a few of the patients actually tried, and even less were succeeding. A horrified scream broke the concentrations of everyone, as an older patient caught sight of the doctor. 

Doctor Grayson smiled slightly at the reaction, while the nurse's mouth curved into a cat-like grin. It amused her how much this sole patient was terrified of the doctor.

The girl on the table opened one of her eyes. "Hello doctor, nurse."

"Hello, Rae. How are things going?"

"A whole lot better if you would stop scaring them." The purple-haired girl fixed the doctor with a threatening gaze. He held up his hands in a silent apology and continued leading 11456783 through the commons.

The young boy dropped to all fours, lolled his tongue out between his lips, let out a bark, and obediently followed after the doctor. He shifted joyfully from side to side as they journeyed on. Every so often he would wander over to a nurse and stand on his legs while licking their face. Each time Star would have to gently ease the young man from his latest victim and apologize for his actions. Eventually the nurse discovered that if she held onto the boy's shirt and acted like it was a leash, he would readily be led by her, thus allowing them to catch up with the fast-paced doctor.

"Dick, where exactly are we taking him?"

The doctor half-turned his face to look at her. "I want him to meet someone, and then I'm going to take him over to the lab."

"Not meaning to intrude on your professional opinion, but he's never had human contact other than us and Victor. Do you really think this is in the best interest?"

"He'll be fine."

"I know, but," Star struggled as the boy spotted another nurse and tried to greet her. The doctor reached out his hand and gently turned the boy's face in the direction they were headed. 11456783 licked the doctor's hand and continued to trot forward. Star had to jog along with the patient in order to again catch up with the doctor. "I know, but don't you think that if whoever it is he's meeting were to provoke any actions that, with his mental condition, he might lash out as something a bit more ferocious than a dog?"

Dick stopped and gingerly gripped the nurse's shoulders. "Star, he'll be fine. From my observations nothing has ever indicated that he would harm anyone. Plus, we'll be standing right off to the side so if anything were to happen we would just have to intercede and stop it. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

Beast Boy rammed into the back of Robin as the leader suddenly stopped. Turning to face the changeling, the boy smiled. 

"I would like you to meet," Robin waved his hand to the right, "Terra."

A girl with long, corn silk colored hair reached out a gloved hand to the teen. "Hi, nice to meet you." The smile she flashed at the changeling immediately made his mouth raise on both sides. A million comments rushed simultaneously through his mind that he was rendered speechless and could only hold out his hand in greeting.

Terra giggled at his sloppy and tongue-tied demeanor. She then gripped his outstretched hand. "Cat got your tongue?"

Beast Boy morphed into a large-headed, green kitten and purred shyly. The girl laughed even more while she lightly patted the kitten's head.

* * *

"You're funny." 

It had taken a moment for the two patients to greet one another. At first both sat in their places and stared, then the girl held out her hand with a simple salutation. The smile on her face gradually increased while she sat waiting for the boy in front of her to say or do anything. Eventually, only after she commented on his silence, did the boy even move. He shifted so that his legs were bent up like the haunches of a cat and his arms were straight with his hands on the ground between his two feet. An almost inaudible purr came from the boy's mouth. The girl laughed at his performance and began to pet his head.

Doctor Grayson nudged the nurse with his elbow as they watched the girl pet 11456783's head. Star leaned close to the doctor's ear. "I think he likes her."

Dick brushed his lips on her ear. "And vice versa."

They continued to watch as the girl talked and talked about various things including sports, music, and geology. During her soliloquy of the last subject, she pulled a pair of beaten up goggles down over her eyes and proceeded to wave her arms about while moving small pebbles on the floor with her feet. After her demonstration she flashed another smile at the boy.

"What do you think of my powers?"

Even with the question open for his answer, the boy only smiled and nodded his head up and down.

"Do you have any powers?"

Again 11456783 nodded his head and then lay flat on his stomach. Very slowly he swayed from side to side. As he began to move soundlessly across the floor he lifted his feet into the air and shook them vigorously while he made a rattling noise with his teeth.

The girl laughed at the boy's "powers" and clapped her hands in amusement. 11456783, encouraged by the attention, proceeded to become a mouse, porcupine, and wallaby. Only after the last one did he stop his show due to a slight embarrassment as he noticed the nurse and doctor staring intently at him. He attempted to flash them a smile, and then turned back to the girl. She reached out her hand and began to pet his head.

"Terra, who's this new friend of yours." A young nurse with blonde hair bent down next to the patient.

"His name's Beast Boy."

"That's a nice name." The smile on the nurse's face fell as she looked up and saw Doctor Grayson standing off to the side. Her eyes widened slightly as the realization hit her of who the patient was. She held out her hand to Terra. "Come on now, Terra, we have to go."

Dick rushed forward at her comment. "Why does she have to go?"

The nurse fixed the doctor with a cold stare. "She has an appointment."

"Can't it wait a few minutes, we're not done here."

"Her doctor gave me direct orders that she is not to have intimate contact with any of the patients, especially yours, Doctor Grayson." The nurse cocked her head triumphantly to the side with a slight smirk playing on her lips. "Come on Terra, Doctor Wilson wishes to see you."

The girl leapt to her feet and happily took hold of the nurse's hand. Right before they left the room she turned back to the boy still sitting on the floor. "It was nice to meet you Beast Boy."

* * *

Beast Boy sat in shocked silence as he watched the girl walk away from him. She was the most amazing, beautiful, and interesting person he had ever met. Not to mention that her powers were pretty awesome. A wanton sigh escaped his lips as he placed a hand on his head where the girl had pet him. 

A hand on his shoulder broke his love-struck reverie.

Robin smiled apologetically at the changeling. "Sorry about that, BB. I promise that tomorrow you'll be able to see her longer." The changeling's mouth curved instantly into a euphoric grin at the notion of spending more time with Terra. "But," Robin's voice took on the tone once more of a commanding leader. "That won't happen unless you come with me to see Cyborg."

Beast Boy stared confused at the undertone of Robin's comment. "Why do we have to see Cyborg?"

"Nothing much, really. Just a few tests," the Boy Wonder lazily commented as he began to walk away.

"Tests? No way am I going to sit through more of his stupid tests!" Beast Boy stood up and jogged after Robin, flailing his arms.

Robin sighed and turned his face so that he was staring Beast boy in the eyes. "One, they are not stupid tests. They are used to make sure that everything is running fine and normally in both your body and your mind. Second, if you refuse to undergo the tests, I'm sorry to have to say this, but you won't be able to see Terra tomorrow."

The Boy Wonder had just delivered the lowest blow in the history of all the low blows the changeling had ever been dealt. The two continued to walk in the direction of the tower, Robin indifferent to the surroundings, Beast Boy pouting and sighing incredulously at his side. After a few minutes the green boy searched their surroundings for their alien teammate.

"Uh, Robin, where's Starfire."

Without breaking his stride or the agnostic look upon his face, he replied: "She went to talk to Raven."

* * *

They arrived at a large metal door with a single window slit gracing the top portion. Doctor Grayson opened the door and had to grip the patient by the collar of his shirt and pull him into the room. Inside at a desk sat a tall, large built African American man wearing a standard issue white lab coat. At the sound of the door he averted his eyes to see who it was. 

He smiled warmly at the doctor. "Hey Dick. What can I do for you today?"

"I was wondering if you could run a PET scan on him, Victor."

"Of course I can." The technician stood from his seat and proceeded to grab a hypodermic needle, a manila folder labeled "11456783," and a small bottle of 6-F-dopa. He turned towards Dick. "I assume you want the dopamine levels measured?"

Doctor Grayson smiled at the man. "Correct."

Victor nodded his head and walked towards a door at the back of his little office. "If you would kindly follow me."

* * *

Beast Boy reclined comfortably on a couch with his head placed in a little donut-shaped contraption. He tapped his foot nervously against the edge of the sofa while his eyes darted from side to side. Robin and Cyborg stood a short distance off, conversing jovially amongst themselves. The only thing about the situation that worried the changeling was watching as Cyborg filled a needle with some solution that looked like water. 

"So, what's that for?" The green boy questioned while pointing at the needle in Cyborg's hand.

"This?" Cyborg squirted some of the fluid out of the tube in order to ensure that there was no air left in the needle. "Well, I'm going to inject you with this so that we can scan the activity of communication between your brain cells and measure your dopamine levels; that is, if you have a brain."

Robin glared at Cyborg and then placed his hand gingerly on the boy's shoulder. "Don't worry, all it'll feel like is a bee sting."

* * *

Victor allowed Doctor Grayson to inject the patient with the radioactive pharmaceutical, while he set up the machine to show the results. After administering the scanning agent, Doctor Grayson removed several pictures from patient 11456783's folder. 

"Are you ready over there Victor?"

"Ready when you are."

Doctor Grayson nodded his head and placed the pictures in the patient's hands.

After ensuring that the scan was running smoothly and the data was being accurately and consistently measured, Victor wheeled his chair around so that he was facing Doctor Grayson. "Did you ever think that you might be, oh I don't know, encouraging his behavior by giving him those pictures?"

"Yes, I've considered that possibility," Dick answered monotonously. "And before you comment again I have tried giving him other things, such as a joke book. Do you want to know the result of that?"

Victor lazily placed his hands behind his head and smiled widely at the doctor.

"Our little 'zoan' here decided to set up one of the various jokes from the book, and ended up dumping a glass of chocolate milk on Star's head."

"That was him?" the technician asked incredulous. Dick nodded his head. "And here I thought you were the cause of her irritability that day. Man, this kid has some skill."

Dick shook his head at the enthusiastic technician and casually walked over to the computer. He scanned the data streaming across the screen and nodded his head in affirmation of his suspicions.

* * *

Beast Boy heaved in a sigh of relief as his head was gently removed from the donut-shaped machine. He stretched his arms out and swung his head from side to side before getting up off the couch and wandering over to Robin and Cyborg. 

"So, am I good to go?" The changeling smiled in a hope to encourage the response he wanted.

Cyborg placed a metallic hand on the green boy's shoulder and slowly shook his head from left to right. At this motion Beast Boy turned his pleading eyes to Robin.

The Boy Wonder answered the boy's look: "Unfortunately your levels of dopamine are off the scales…"

* * *

"…Which means I'm going to have to try an increase in the dopamine antagonists administered to him." The doctor explained to no one in particular. 

"Now before you go off and do that, you might want to keep in mind that various tests have shown that there is a 6 increase in the risk of developing breast cancer in the wake of dopamine antagonists."

Dick shot the grinning technician a glare bubbling with venom before grabbing the collar of the patient's shirt and leaving the lab.

* * *

When the two Titans reached the door of the changeling's room, Robin held out a thin book. 

"Thought you might enjoy this," he explained before walking off to his own room.

Beast Boy opened the sliding doors and stumbled tiredly into his darkened room. He flopped down on the bottom bunk of his bed, for he lacked the energy to climb up the ladder to his normal perch, and cracked open the book Robin had given to him. A smile played across his lips as he began to read about the extinct Tyrannosaurus Rex.

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_AN: So what do you think? This is my first venture into prose fanfic, and only my second fanfic; so, any advice is welcome._

_I hope you enjoyed this, review if you want, and hopefully I can write up the next chapter soon._

_Thanks for reading it._


	2. Chapter 2: Complications

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, or any of the medical jargon/conditions/procedures. I hope you enjoy the second chapter of the story._

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Tuesdays. Always Tuesdays.

He didn't know why, or what caused him to, but Beast Boy always found himself drawing mindlessly for hours on Tuesdays. The pictures weren't great, in fact he had finally admitted to himself that he couldn't draw, but still, he drew and drew. Most of the time it was of the team, sometimes an animal or two, or a nice flower.

This Tuesday was no different.

The green changeling sat hunched over the table with his tongue instinctively hanging out of his mouth while he concentrated on the moving crayon in his hand. Sporadically laid about him were dozens of sheets of once white paper, now covered in stick figure drawings of the Teen Titans. Currently the boy was attempting to draw something other than a stick figure.

* * *

The nurse stood off to the side of the room and watched as 11456783 painstakingly chose the next color for his current piece of artwork. It was a marigold crayon that he finally gripped and brought down on the paper. He bent his face closer to the table while he brought the crayon down in subtle swooping motions. The boy seemed satisfied with his latest endeavor and carefully placed the crayon back into its designated spot in the small, colorful box.

Doctor Grayson walked into the room and squatted down next to the patient. For a few moments he stayed in that position, watching every stroke of color fall onto the paper. Eventually he gave into his indecision and lightly shook the boy's shoulder.

A threatening growl escaped 11456783's lips as he turned his head to glare down the cause of his break in concentration; but, when he saw the doctor, a half-grin replaced the snarl.

"If you want to go, Rae's here to take you to her meditation session this morning." The boy's eyes followed Dick's finger as he pointed out the purple-haired volunteer standing in the doorway. 11456783 began to stand from his position at the table but then gazed back down at his unfinished picture.

"You can finish this later," Doctor Grayson smiled warmly at the boy. "I promise."

The patient nodded his head in understanding and began to walk cautiously to the door. He turned one last time to look at his picture, then joined the girl out in the hallway.

Doctor Grayson ran his hand over the various pictures, occasionally picking up a piece of paper for closer inspection. A smirk formed on his lips as he placed a series of six pictures in a row on the table.

"I'd say he has someone on his mind," Dick commented.

Star wandered over to the table and looked down at the line of drawings the doctor had laid out. Each one showed a frame of the young girl, Terra, completing the complicated movements to invoke her powers. Reaching out her hand, the nurse moved the unfinished picture to the end of the line. She smiled at the finished product; for it showed a giant boulder on top of the blonde-headed nurse from the day before, and Terra hugging a love-struck Beast Boy.

"I'd say you're right." The nurse sifted through the papers and pulled out a brightly colored piece of artwork. "Uh-oh."

"What is it?" Doctor Grayson turned towards the nurse for a response.

Slowly Star flipped the paper so that Dick could see what was drawn. "We have been caught," she added as commentary to the picture.

On the paper was drawn stick figure representations of Starfire and Robin stealing a kiss behind the backs of their teammates.

* * *

"So, you've finally broken down and let me join you in meditation. Has the world ended and we're the only two left?" The changeling asked as he mischievously sidled alongside Raven.

The girl clenched and unclenched her fists, attempting to prevent her rage from escaping and injuring her teammate. Robin had ordered her to give the boy a shot, and she had eventually conceded to the task. At this moment, though, she wholly regretted her break down.

Raven pulled in a deep breath before answering the boy. "No, I am seeing if my unrealistic goal, proving you not to be a walking specimen of the idiocy of the male species, has been met."

Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders at her comment. "Fair enough."

* * *

The purple-haired volunteer spent several minutes placing each patient into their specified areas. It had taken only one sitting for her to figure out which mental disorders clashed with which, but now she found herself faced with the decision of where the new boy should sit. He could sit next to Ted, the schizophrenic, but then again, the last person to sit next to him got a fist smashed into his face. She desperately scanned the floor for any opening that could work. Finally she found one.

Gently she guided the patient to the empty spot on the floor. "Sit here."

11456783 obediently sat cross-legged on the floor. He allowed his eyes to wander the room a bit. He knew most of the people in the room, not by meeting them (he wasn't allowed to) but he had seen them whenever the doctor would take him on their daily walks. Some of the patients glared the boy down, others attempted a smile only after shifting their eyes to make sure no one was looking, but most just stared ahead at the purple-haired girl seated on the table.

"Do you want to pet my bunny?" The boy's observations were cut short by a squeaky voice. He turned his face in the direction of the question and found a young girl holding out her hands. "Do you want to pet my bunny?" She smiled at him as she spoke.

11456783 stared curiously at the girl's hands. For all it was worth, he couldn't find any bunny. The boy brought his arms up into a shrug. His movement made the girl jump and a solitary tear rolled down her face.

"You made it hop away."

He anxiously searched the room for someone who knew what to do with the crying girl, but then an idea hit. The boy squatted on his feet, hunched forward, and brought his hands down near his toes. At first he hopped up and down in one place, but when the smile on the girl's face continued to increase he began to jump back and forth. The girl clapped her hands and roared with laughter. The boy made even more daring jumps in all directions.

The volunteer on the table kept her eyes closed and repeated the phrase of the day over and over again, in the hope that maybe one of the patients was actually participating. Eventually the sound of laughter grew too loud that she forced one eye open. Scanning the room, she found the focus of all the noise to be patient 11456783. He was hopping all over the room and occasionally would stop and groom back his "ears." She stood up on the table and attempted to politely (yet firmly) gain back the attention of all the patients.

A low growl escaped her lips as all control was lost. "Stop it!"

* * *

Beast Boy shuffled uncomfortably between Starfire and Robin. His leader had a stone cold expression of disappointment and anger, while the Tameranian girl tried to portray a look of consoling hope. The changeling thought back on how his teammate had yelled so loud at him and proceeded to leap down from her position of meditation. If it weren't for the fact that Starfire had interceded when she had, Beast Boy held no doubt in his mind that Raven would not have hesitated in killing him. What made the whole ordeal worse was the fact that the purple-haired girl had reported back to Robin and tore him verbally to shreds for the idiocy of his thoughts about even mentioning letting Beast Boy meditate with her.

Beast Boy sighed as he realized how perfectly he had shattered any chance that Raven's goal would ever be proven.

"Why would you do that?"

The boy shrugged at his leader's question. "I don't know."

"There has to be a good reason why you would turn into a rabbit and start hopping around while Raven was meditating."

Silence fell on the three again as Beast Boy attempted to form a sane reason for his actions. When no sane response could be found, he turned to Robin and tried telling him the truth. "Look, there was this girl and she was crying because I scared her bunny away. Then I thought, 'Hey, I can change into any animal,' so I morphed into a rabbit so the girl would stop crying."

"That's why you risked your life?"

Beast Boy nodded his head proudly.

* * *

Doctor Grayson reached over the patient and placed his hand on the nurse's shoulder. "Star, can you take him to the chair and strap him in, I think it's time we start the increase in dopamine antagonists." The red-haired nurse nodded her head and led the patient into a small room at the end of the hallway.

The boy shifted his eyes nervously about the room while Star strapped him into the chair. He hadn't been in the room for a long time, and he had no idea why he was there now. Memory was sparked, though, when he saw Doctor Grayson walk through the door holding a needle filled with an unknown solution.

He tried a bird, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, even an ant, but nothing set him free from the straps that bound him to the seat. 11456783 growled and nipped at the doctor's hand as he neared with the needle.

"Please don't make this harder then it should be," the doctor pleaded while he dodged the hungry mouth. "I'm doing this to help you, understand that."

It took the weight and strength of both the nurse and the doctor to get the boy to stop thrashing long enough to administer the medicine. Once it was over the boy refused to get up off the chair. He stubbornly sat there growling and hissing at the doctor as he threw away the needle.

Doctor Grayson tried to give the boy a sympathetic look, but the various animal noises spoiled the effect. "Listen, I have to give you that, whether you want it or not. It's the only chance we have of combating your disorder."

11456783's face softened for a moment before returning to a mask of perturbed rage. With a final growl he slid off the chair, "morphed" into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and began circling the doctor.

Dick stood absolutely still, save for his hand fumbling for the emergency sedative in his coat pocket. The patient sped up his circling, occasionally leaning in his head for a sniff. Whenever he felt the need for it, the boy would roar right in the doctor's face.

While the patient continued to size up and threaten the doctor, Star slowly worked her way over to the emergency button posted on the wall. She watched as the boy leaned in again and nipped at the doctor's lab coat.

"Star," Dick half-whispered, half-choked out the name. The nurse put her hand on the button and then turned toward Doctor Grayson for the go ahead. To her surprise he shook his head "no" and silently ordered her to take her hand down.

The doctor's eyes followed the boy as he continued to make his acute circles. He had never reacted this way before to the medicine, no patient ever had. It was a paradox to everything the doctor was trying to help the boy with, and for that reason, Doctor Grayson found he would have to give into the boy's normal delusions in order to get him out of the dangerous one he was lost in now.

"Beast Boy, if I hurt you I didn't mean to. I'm sorry." The patient slowed his steps, but continued the instinctual threats, as he began to listen more intently to the doctor's words. "If you want, we can go see Terra." At the mention of the blonde-haired girl the boy immediately dropped the helm of the dinosaur and smiled warmly at the doctor.

Doctor Grayson and Star sighed in relief as they led the boy out of the room.

* * *

"Terra! Terra!" Beast Boy ran back and forth along his path calling for the girl. He stopped when he reached the place of their first meeting, but she wasn't there. "Terra, where are you!"

The boy turned around in circles searching vainly for the missing girl. A foreign feeling of betrayal began to settle in his stomach as he dwelled on the possibility that maybe she didn't want to see him again. Beast Boy smiled at himself, why would anyone never want to see him again?

"Perhaps she has found a new location of enjoyment, Beast Boy," Starfire encouraged as she caught up with the boy.

The green changeling thought on her comment for a moment. It was the most logical explanation, but the question remained: where would she go? The beach, probably not. The mall, no. Someplace with a great multitude of rocks was the key.

"What about the gravel pit?"

Beast Boy nodded at his leader's suggestion. "The gravel pit, yeah, she would have a ton of fun there. Beast Boy, you're a genius."

* * *

Doctor Grayson sat down comfortably on a bench and watched with amusement as the patient shyly approached the blonde girl playing in the makeshift sand box.

"Dick, may I ask you a question."

The doctor smiled at the nurse and motioned for her to take a seat next to him. "Sure Star, what is it?"

The red-haired woman gazed down at her hands while she attempted to come up with the right phrasing to say. Finally, she breathed in and went for the plunge. "What happened back there?"

"I don't know."

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence as they watched 11456783 continue to approach the girl. Star opened her mouth to ask another question, but Dick's voice cut her off:

"That wasn't him, or at least, that wasn't Beast Boy. There was no sanity, no remote goodness about his act. Whatever it was, I believe we may have seen the true face of his zoanthropy."

Star nodded her head in agreement. Never before had 11456783 acted in any way threatening to anyone, especially not Dick. Likewise she knew that his delusional persona, Beast Boy, would never act that way towards Robin, his leader and friend.

"Do you think the medicine had anything to do with it?"

Dick shook his head. "It should have done the exact opposite."

"I do not understand."

"Theoretically his monomania is attributed, like in schizophrenia, to an increase in dopamine levels active in the brain," Dick explained to the woman sitting next to him. "The dopamine antagonists we give him are suppose to bind but not activate the dopamine receptors in the brain, thus controlling the levels and healing the mind. Of course, no one knows what causes zoanthropy, so this is just a theory," he added in quickly.

"Hopefully it will never happen again," Star added as she brought her head down on the doctor's shoulder.

Dick nodded his head at her comment. "Let's hope."

* * *

He couldn't breath, his knees were trembling, sweat was dripping from his skin. It would take a miracle if he was able to stay upright during his walk to speak with the girl. Beast Boy shivered at the thought of how suddenly his entire mien was altered by the appearance of Terra. Though, perhaps it was a good thing. Maybe everyone went through this when they met a person that could make them feel entirely alive and yet have them wishing they were dead at the same time. Not that he wanted to die, of course, he just figured one day he would perish from the embarrassment of his eternally corny comments. Nevertheless, his determination and desire to speak with the girl won over his hesitation and doubts.

When Beast Boy finally reached the gravel pit he stood and watched the girl instead of immediately speaking. She had created a bulls-eye out of pebbles and was proceeding to send elongated rocks at it like darts. Every single hit was right in the center, even if it meant her having to move the target's bulls-eye into the path of the flying rock. Nobody's perfect, he compensated to himself.

With a weak wave of his gloved hand the changeling attempted a hello. Unfortunately, he discovered he would have to talk. "Hey Terra."

The girl continued to play darts with the rocks.

Beast Boy decided to try again, only this time a little louder. "Hey Terra."

Another rock went flying through the air.

"Terra," his voice gained a bit in volume.

She moved the target to the left.

"Terra," a little louder.

The target shifted slightly right.

"Terra," he was on the verge of screaming at the girl.

Bulls-eye.

"Terra!" The green boy leapt in front of where the girl was sitting and waved his arms erratically in the air.

The blonde-haired girl moved her goggles up to their perch on her head. "Hey BB," she cocked her head to the side and produced a friendly smile. "What's up."

If it had been anyone else, he would have yelled at them. But looking at the smile on her face vanquished all of the anger produced from the attempt of receiving her attention.

Beast Boy brought a hand up to the back of his head and rubbed it nervously up and down. "Nothing really, you?"

"Just working on controlling my powers," the girl reached forward her hands and cracked her knuckles on the word 'powers.'

"I'd say you're 'right on target' with them." He wanted to die, but instead attempted a hardy laugh. Terra chuckled at his lame attempt of cracking a joke.

Her smile dimmed momentarily, "Not really."

The changeling stared incredulously at the girl. For the past ten minutes he had stood by and watched as she expertly sent rocks flying through the air at a target, that at its best, reached six inches in diameter. He waved his hand at her still hovering target. "What do you mean, I watched you get a bulls-eye every time."

Terra shrugged. "But those are just pebbles, when it comes to boulders, I don't have complete control." The two teens sat in silence, then the girl's face filled with worry. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Of course not," Beast Boy shook his head from side to side to strengthen his promise.

"Thanks, BB." A silence descended quickly upon the two as each discovered they had nothing to say. Beast boy began to twiddle his thumbs to pass the awkwardness, while Terra nervously tossed rocks up and down in the air with her powers.

Eventually the earth-mover spoke. "So, how are the rest of the Titans?"

"They're good," Beast Boy replied. "Except Starfire and Robin have been looking at me odd since early this afternoon. I have no idea why though, maybe they're still mad at me for the whole Raven incident."

Terra laughed at the boy. "I heard about that, way to go." She held up a gloved hand and the changeling gave her a high five.

* * *

Doctor Grayson and Star watched as the two patients gave each other a high five. At least 11456783 was behaving better now that he was with the girl.

"Fascinating, isn't it, how our two patients have grown so fond of each other, Dick." The two sitting on the bench averted their eyes to the side to see the owner of the deep voice that had just spoken. Doctor Grayson stood up from his seat and glared at the man.

"Doctor Wilson."

The man smiled at the young physician. The disturbing nature of his look was increased by a black eye patch situated over his right eye. The other doctors at the institution always commented on how it made him look like a pirate, and that's why Doctor Wilson kept it instead of getting a glass eye.

"Come now, Dick," he began. "We've been working at the same institution for over three years. I believe we can address each other by our first names."

Dick licked his lips in preparation of the name he hated saying. "Slade."

The older doctor smiled amusedly down at his colleague. He then motioned his hand over to the two teenagers sitting in the sandbox. "Is that your zoanthropy patient I've heard so much about."

"Yes," Dick replied in a frigid voice.

"I envy you Dick, no one has ever worked with a mind plagued by such a fascinating illness. Can you imagine what his thoughts are like? How it would be to be always under the delusion that you can change your physical form to that of any of the lower animals. Fascinating, really. Do you ever wonder if he knows the truth, if he ever found that he couldn't change his form?"

Dick kept his face emotionless when he spoke. "I imagine every doctor has to wonder whether or not their patient actually knows the truth. Are they keeping with the delusions because they want it to be true so badly, or has the illness so completely set in that, even if the truth was presented on a silver platter, they wouldn't see it?"

"At least he has an illness with a noble past. What is the verse again?"

"Daniel, chapter four, verse 33: 'Immediately what was said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.'" Dick quoted the verse with the air of one not impressed by his converser's knowledge.

Doctor Slade Wilson smirked at the young man's soliloquy. "Refreshing to find you know your literature."

"No," Dick stared straight into the man's solitary eye. "I should be familiar with the texts concerning my patient's illness. My question is, why are you?"

The man smiled at Dick then sauntered over to the sandbox and held out his hand to the young girl. She immediately halted in her speech with 11456783 and gingerly grabbed the doctor's hand while smiling warmly up at his grinning face. The two walked away from the outer courtyard of the institution hand in hand, but right before they entered in through a pair of doors, Doctor Wilson turned to the bench.

"Patience is a virtue, Doctor Grayson."

* * *

Beast Boy sat dumbstruck as he watched Terra walk away holding hands with some man. The way she had looked up at him, how she had smiled and took his hand immediately without even a goodbye, haunted the changeling's thoughts. Even worse was the sense of pure malignity surrounding the man.

"Robin, please calm yourself." Beast Boy turned his attention to his two teammates. Currently Starfire had wrapped her arms around Robin's chest in order to stop the Boy Wonder from charging after the one-eyed man. Beast Boy secretly wished she would let him go.

The masked boy tried to break free from the alien's arms. "I can't let him hurt someone else, Star. I'll kill him if he does."

Starfire increased the strength with which she was holding him back. "But if I let you go, I fear you may kill him now."

"Dude, give it a rest, we'll track him down tomorrow or something." The changeling placed his hand on his leader's shoulder. It hurt him to have to do this, but he couldn't risk Terra's life with an irate Robin on the loose hunting down the man she had left with.

Robin stopped his struggling and succumbed to his teammates' wishes. "Fine, let's head back to the tower. I'll deal with Slade later."

* * *

11456783 found himself being place in his room an hour before his normal retirement. He turned to his table and decided that maybe it was better. The doctor had been acting strangely towards him all day. With a pained smile on his face he picked up his discarded crayons.

In large, red letters he printed the name 'Slade' at the top of the page, and began a new picture.

_

* * *

_

_AN: So...how was it? I hope it was to everyone's liking._

_I would like to give a huge thank you to my reviewers for chapter one: SiriusAboutMarauders, Rhys Davies, Flying Star, SuNsHiNe10, Blowfish the Monkey Tamer; and I give a special award to Lady SnowStorm for figuring out the villain of the story right away and foiling my chances of a surprise. Well done._

_Well, review if you want. Thank you for reading chapter two. Hopefully I will be able to write chapter three soon._

_Thanks again._


	3. Chapter 3: A Trip

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, or any of the medical jargon/conditions/procedures. I hope you enjoy the third chapter of the story.__

* * *

_

The nurse placed a large plastic bag down on the pavement and blindly searched through her purse for a key. It took a minute of rummaging to produce the solitary silver object, but when it was found she triumphantly raised it in the air. The nurse opened the door and, picking up the bag from its position on the ground, entered into the nigh silent building. Her destination was on the third floor, but she veered off to the left just before the stairs.

A soft humming escaped the woman's mouth as she made her way down the hallway. A smile grew on her lips as she gazed around at the inactivity. In her two years at the institution it had never been this silent. Her path led her into the main lounge of the building, to the right of which was located the bullet-proof glass encased nurses' office.

She tapped gently on the main window and waited for the current on-staff nurse to appear. Within seconds of her knocking a short, stocky woman with curly black hair walked up to the window and slid open the bottom compartment. Through this opening she was handed a steaming cup of coffee.

The nurse smiled at her savior. "Thank God for you Star."

"You're welcome, Lisa." Star pointed at a clock imprisoned by a steel cage. "Only half an hour until you get to go home."

The black-haired woman sipped her coffee and nodded in tired excitement at the comment.

Star walked joyfully back to the stairs she had forsaken before and began her climb to the third floor. Once at the top she had to set back down the bag in order to unlock the door.

As she walked down the dismal hallway she counted off the numbers on the doors; even though she knew them by heart, it still offered a fair amount of entertainment. 11456779, 11456780, 11456781, 11456782. Finally she arrived at the door with the hanging white board proclaiming 11456783. Star opened the door slowly and soundlessly snuck in.

Doctor Grayson squatted in front of the patient, eyes staring intently at the sleeping boy. He had dark circles under his eyes and every once in awhile would begin to lose balance and quickly regain his equilibrium. The dark-haired man brought a fist up to his mouth, smothering the yawn which threatened to escape.

Star set the plastic bag down on a nearby chair and walked over to the doctor. With the least amount of movement possible she waved a coffee cup in his viewing field. Instinctively he grabbed the cup, brought it to his lips, and poured the steaming beverage down his throat. The doctor coughed a few times.

"That's hot."

The nurse gave him a sympathetic look. "It's coffee, Dick."

Doctor Grayson waved his hand at her comment. "I know, I know." Suddenly he wheeled his face around and stared at the nurse. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Well," Star pulled up a chair and sat next to the squatting man. "I received a phone call at about four-thirty this morning from Lisa, and she said that some man had come in about five minutes before. She was fairly sure it was you, but wanted to double check before she called in security."

"Oh," Dick turned a sheepish gaze on the nurse, "Sorry. I…"

"Wanted to observe him while he slept," Star completed his thought. "I know."

Doctor Grayson turned his face back to the boy sleeping on the bed. He stared for a moment, but his concentration had been lost. The man brought his left hand up in front of his face and frowned when he noticed his wrist was naked.

Star patted his head gently then stood up and brought over the plastic bag. She pulled from it a silver watch and handed it to the doctor.

"Thanks," he commented while fastening it to his wrist. The bag beside the red-haired woman acted as a magnet for his eyes. Every few seconds he would attempt to peak over at it without being noticed. Finally, curiosity won.

"So," Dick pointed casually at the bag. "What's in there?"

Star smirked at the man's display of attempting indifference. "A change of clothes for you."

"For me?" The doctor gazed questionably up at the woman. "Why do I need a change of clothes."

"Dick, look at yourself." The nurse waved her hand up and down at the man's clothing. "You're wearing pajama pants and an old shirt with a lab coat and slippers. It may be the so-called casual day, but I doubt that's what it means."

Doctor Grayson grinned up at the nurse. "Star, what would I do without you?"

* * *

Beast Boy tossed and turned in his bed. All night long he had been plagued by dreams of Terra and the man Slade. In each and every one, he and Terra were enjoying themselves and growing closer to revealing their feelings; but then Slade would waltz up and hold his hand out to Terra and lead her away, or he would wrap his arms about her waist, or even once he shot Beast Boy and then carried the girl over his prostrate body. Never did she choose to stay with the green changeling, always she gazed up at the malign man with such love and fealty in her eyes then left happily by his side.

The only thought left in his mind by the end of his long and painful rest was that it was only a dream and everything would be perfect when he woke up. Terra would be smiling by his side and Robin would catch Slade, then everyone would be able to live out their lives in peace and euphoria. He hoped and prayed to whatever power might listen that this would happen.

A gentle cadence of words broke the boy from his nightmares.

"He's getting worse." Beast Boy turned his head to see where the words were coming from. Upon scanning the room he found Robin and Starfire seated on the table in his room. They evidently hadn't noticed the boy's awakening; therefore, he squinted his eyes in camouflage of his newly awakened state and continued to listen.

Starfire wrapped an arm around the Boy Wonder's neck and gently laid her head on his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"In the three hours I've been here, he's been rapidly changing between his normal delusions and those of pure animosity. Ever since we gave him his first round of medicine he's been drifting deeper and more often into the mindset of an animal. Just looking at his face, there's no human emotion, no signs of logical thought. It won't be much longer until he's lost all the sanity left in him."

"Is there nothing we can do."

Robin's shoulders slumped down in defeat. "I don't know. I've gone through all of my old books and I even searched through the archives, I can't find anything."

"We will think of something." The red-haired girl sat up and gently kissed the boy's furrowed brow. Starfire then cupped Robin's face in her hands and stared encouragingly at him. "Do not lose hope."

Beast Boy noiselessly turned his face to the wall. He had no idea what they were talking about, but he knew it was about him and he wasn't suppose to have heard it. A shiver ran up and down his spine as he continued to listen to their hopeless and downtrodden voices. Supposedly, he found out, there was something wrong with his mind. It now made sense to the green changeling, in some way, why he had to go through all of those tests; but, he never recalled receiving any medicine.

When the room grew silent once more, Beast Boy decided to "awaken" before he had to listen to anymore.

* * *

11456783 dramatically stretched his arms out to the side and released a thunderous yawn. He completed several other movements to proclaim to the world that he was finally awake. The patient subtly averted his eyes to make sure the two on the table had heard him, by the shocked looks gracing their normally calm faces he knew they had.

Doctor Grayson unhooked himself from Star's grip and walked over to the bed. "How are you this morning?"

The boy let out a squeaky yawn then proceeded to smile amicably at the doctor. Dick found the grin contagious and let his lips ascend on the sides. 11456783 raised his eyes from the doctor and stared at the beaming nurse.

"Good Morning," she greeted him. "Do you want to have some breakfast?"

At the mention of food, the patient sprang from his bed and took up his position between the doctor and nurse. Joyfully he hooked arms with the two and began pulling them to the door.

Doctor Grayson chuckled at the boy's anxious demeanor. "I'd say you're feeling better."

The boy attempted another fake smile at the doctor's comment, but once the dark-haired man's eyes were upraised once more, 11456783 succumbed his face to a mournful snarl.

* * *

Beast Boy bounced impatiently up and down in his seat as he watched Starfire fill his plate with a few pieces of steaming food. He hoped she had made tofu this morning instead of one of her strange alien meals. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he saw a plate brimming with tofu waffles and fruit come floating down in front of him.

* * *

"I think he likes the tofu," Doctor Grayson stated as he watched 11456783 inhale three large tofu waffles. He had never met anyone who held such a passion for tofu, but then again, the boy was clinically insane.

Star sat down next to Doctor Grayson and stared on in fascination as the boy continued to eat. Slowly she placed a glass of orange juice within the patient's reach, and watched as his hand shot out and brought the liquid rushing down his throat.

Suddenly the boy halted in his motions and gazed at the wide-eyed pair seated across from him.

* * *

The green changeling eyed the two before asking the question on his mind. "So, when do we go see Terra?"

The solitary mention of the girl made Starfire avert her undivided attention to drinking a mug of coffee. She downed the liquid with such dedication that Beast Boy found himself scooting further away from her with dread. Once seated as far away as he could get and still be able to hear the answer, the boy asked his leader a second time.

Robin turned his gaze down at the table for a moment. It was quite obvious that he was attempting to find the right phrasing of his answer and still be optimistic, but his actions produced a dread in the changeling's psyche.

"You see Beast Boy," the Boy Wonder began. " With all that's been going on, it's possible we may never see her again." Robin rushed the last part out hoping his words wouldn't be deciphered.

* * *

After telling the patient the bad news about his friend, Doctor Grayson stood up from his seat and rounded the table. He lightly placed a consoling hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Why don't you come with me," Dick slightly lifted the boy up from his seat.

11456783 stared confusedly at the doctor and then at the nurse. Star nodded her head in encouragement at the boy while Doctor Grayson led him from the cafeteria and down the main hallway to the entrance. Right before the two exited through the double doors, Dick reached into his pocket and placed a laminated tag attached to a string around the patient's neck. The boy lifted it to his face, all he saw were groups of little black lines and the number 11456783.

Doctor Grayson took hold of the boy's arm and led him over to a half-full parking lot. It took a few minutes of wandering around before the doctor halted at the side of a red jeep and opened the door for the patient.

* * *

Beast Boy stuck his head out the window and laughed as the world whipped past him. He had no idea where Robin was taking him, but at the moment he didn't care. Everything clouding his mind vanished as the speed at which they were going increased.

Suddenly the boy felt a hard plastic sheet lifting into his chin. He instinctively brought his head back into the car and watched as the window shielded him from the world. With an angry grunt he turned to face the front of the vehicle.

"So, where are we going?"

"Patience, Beast Boy, is a virtue." The green changeling let out another grunt as he sank lower into the leather seat. If anyone were to lecture him about patience, Robin should be the last person to do it.

Beast Boy stared out the window again and counted off the various road signs. Occasionally, he came to notice, an attraction was advertised more than once. The boy thought of an idea from the repeating boards.

"Can we play twenty questions?"

Robin glanced over at the boy and shook his head at the pathetic attempt. "We can play five questions."

Beast Boy nodded his head and gazed out the window for some inspiration. "Will I like it?"

"Hopefully."

"Does it have games?" The boy smiled hopefully at a sign for the newly opened casino.

Robin smirked as he noticed the object of the changeling's affection. "No."

A billboard for a water park rushed past the boy's eyes. "Is it outside?"

"Mostly.'

"Does it contain gallons upon gallons of water?"

"Some of it."

Beast Boy grew excited by the continuity of the answers with his hopeful destination. "Does it have slides?"

Robin nodded his head. "I believe so."

"Is it the water park?" The green changeling gripped his leader's arm in the manner of a child who has discovered the world for the first time and is begging to be let loose in it.

The Boy Wonder shook off the hand. "You've had your five questions. Plus we're almost there."

Beast Boy sat up straight in his seat and searched the horizon for the towering slides and various fountains of the water park. A smile spread across his face as he noticed it off to the right. The only problem was, Robin had just turned left.

* * *

Doctor Grayson pulled the jeep into a parking spot and turned off the car. Before walking over and helping out his patient, the man shed his white lab coat. He figured there was no need to draw any more attention then was necessary.

11456783 walked silently by his side, on his face was drawn a look of utter disappointment yet also a strange curiosity. Dick smiled at the boy and guided him to the revolving bars set up at the entrance of the complex. The patient hesitantly approached the bar. He had seen various people just walk through it, but he wasn't sure if he trusted the thing. The boy tried pushing the metal bar, then he attempted to crawl under it. Eventually Doctor Grayson grabbed onto the boy's shoulder and helped him through the rotating contraption.

The patient found the experience exhilarating and turned to walk through the device once more, but was interrupted by a lanky man rushing up to them waving his arms.

Once he arrived he reached out a hand and eagerly shook hands with the doctor. "Hello Doctor Grayson, it's a pleasure to have you here. My name's Larry and I will be your helper today."

Doctor Grayson gave the man a slight smile. "Hi."

"Now if you will follow me," the slender and nervous man looped arms with the doctor and pulled him along the path. "I want you to know that I can have any area of the zoo cleared out if you want to take your patient there. All you have to do is just tell me where you want to go, and bam! it will be empty within five minutes."

Doctor Grayson attempted to pull his arm away from the man, but to no avail. "Th-"

"So where do you want to go first?" The man cut Dick off.

The doctor looked about their surroundings. Pointing to a sign with a large red arrow on it he answered: "How about the petting zoo."

"Marvelous choice, let me go and clear it out." Dick sighed in relief as he watched the man rush off in the direction of the petting zoo.

* * *

"The zoo, Robin? The zoo!" Beast Boy flailed his arms as he trailed after his leader. "You told me there was water and slides. Where are they?"

Robin halted in his walking and turned to face the irate changeling. "The aquarium has gallons upon gallons of water, and near the concessions is a playground with various types of plastic slides." Beast Boy growled at the Boy Wonder's logic and the fact that he had been tricked into a day at the zoo.

"Fine, but what am I suppose to do here? Do you want me to gawk and laugh at the defenseless and caged animals?"

"You're Beast Boy," Robin pointed out. "Why don't you try communicating with your fellow animals."

The green changeling thought on the suggestion. He wouldn't admit it, but this could actually turn out to be fun. A mischievous grin formed upon his lips as he thought on the vile rumors he could spread about his deceitful leader to the animal community.

* * *

Doctor Grayson and 11456783 arrived at the petting zoo approximately six minutes after they had watched their helper run off. He had done his job. Not a single soul save the three was in the petting zoo.

Larry waved his arms triumphantly at the various pens. "Feel free to wander."

Dick allowed 11456783 to stroll about the mini-complex. Every so often the boy would stand in front of one of the pens and take on the "form" of the animal. Never once, though, did any of the animals react to his energetic attempts at communication. In fact, most would turn and walk back over to their troughs and feeding dishes, leaving the boy frowning from embarrassed disappointment.

The zoo helper turned his face to the doctor. "So, Dick…"

"Doctor Grayson," the dark-haired man replied monotonously.

"Doctor Grayson," Larry corrected. "What's wrong with him. Is it schizophrenia? He sure seems to be harboring multiple personalities." The lanky man snorted in amusement at his comment.

Dick inhaled a long breath and then let it out slowly. He was going to strangle this man sooner or later. "I can't tell you what's wrong with him. There is a such thing as patient confidentiality. As for schizophrenia, it's not characterized by multiple personalities. That is a common misconception of the general public. There is an actual illness for multiple personalities, it's what is also present with that delusion that will tell whether or not someone suffers from a different illness."

"I knew that," the man defended himself. "I was just seeing if you did."

Doctor Grayson shook his head at the man. "Could you clear out the aquarium?"

"Right away, Doctor Grayson." With that the annoying helper ran off.

11456783 sat dejected in front of the rabbit pen. None of the animals had responded to him. He thought he was doing the right movements and calls, but he began to doubt himself. Perhaps he was just having an off day. A forced smile formed on his lips as he attempted to convince himself of this.

Doctor Grayson placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and nodded his head in the direction of the aquarium. "Let's try over there."

* * *

Robin glanced over at his teammate in the car. The changeling sat hunched over in his seat with his head resting against the window. The Boy Wonder turned down the radio before speaking to the melancholy boy.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Robin tried to flash a cheerful smile at the boy but was greeted by a mournful sigh.

"Oh yeah, fearless leader, that was the most fun I've ever had." The Boy Wonder cringed slightly at the venomous tone of the changeling's voice. "Did you notice that not a single animal responded to me. Not a single one. Do they find me repulsive or something?"

Robin shrugged at the boy's question.

The two sat in awkward silence as they continued traveling down the road. Suddenly Beast Boy sat erect in his seat. "I know why they didn't respond."

Curious to the boy's reasoning, Robin urged him on. "And that would be…"

"I'm green, that's why. Tell me, have you ever seen a green rabbit? Or a green elephant? How about a green lizard?"

"I have seen a green lizard, actually." The Boy Wonder smirked at the exasperated sigh to his right.

"Who cares." Beast Boy pushed the button on his door and stuck his head out the window.

* * *

Victor Stone whistled jovially as he walked towards the doors of the institution. It had been a long week and now he could go home and spend the weekend in bed. The lab technician breathed in the crisp autumn air as he exited the building. Freedom was the only word going through his head.

The man glanced casually to the side and spotted the red-haired nurse sitting on the steps. He gazed about the parking lot but didn't see her car anywhere; therefore, being the good friend that he was, he strolled over to her.

"Hey Star, do you need a ride home?"

The woman jumped from the sound of his voice but smiled as she discovered who it was. "Thanks for the offer, Victor, but Dick just called and should be back any minute now."

Victor stared quizzically at the woman. "Why does he have your car?"

"Oh, he walked this morning but needed a car, so I let him borrow mine."

"Where'd he have to go today?" The technician took a seat next the nurse and waited for her response. Knowing Dick, it was going to be interesting.

Star shrugged her shoulders. "He took 'Beast Boy' to the zoo for some experimentations."

Victor nodded his head at her answer before the realization of her words hit. "He took, physically away from the institution, his patient to the zoo. Isn't that against the rules of this place?"

"Well, yes," Star conceded to the man. "But you know how Dick is."

"True, he is the number one workaholic with an obsession for trying out the extremes of his reach." Victor smiled at his friend's recklessness. Glancing at his watch, the man stood up. "Well, I must be going. Rest and relaxation await. Have a good weekend Star."

The technician began to walk to his car, but was stopped by the nurse calling out his name and rushing towards him.

"Victor, I almost forgot, could you do Dick and me a huge favor this weekend?"

The man stared worried at the nurse. He should have walked away right then, his mind was screaming for him to run, but he stayed anyway. "Depends upon what it is."

Star fumbled with a small purse in her hands as she built up the courage to ask the favor. "Could you fill in for Dick this weekend in watching 11456783? It would mean the world to the both of us."

Yes, he definitely should have run. A rolling sigh escaped his lips as he gazed at the nurse's pleading face. He was about to answer, but Star spoke again in explanation. "Dick is terrified that Doctor Wilson is going to volunteer to watch over the patient. You know how paranoid Dick is about Doctor Wilson's methods. I know that if he doesn't know for sure that Slade isn't going to be watching the patient, he's going to be worried all weekend."

Victor subjected himself to her plea. "All right, I'll do it."

"Thank you so much." Star gripped the man in a bone crushing hug before she let him journey to his car.

_

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_AN: Well, that's chapter three. Hope everyone enjoyed it, if not, I promise the plot will thicken nicely next chapter._

_I would like to send out a warm thanks to all of my reviewers for chapter two: Heavenly Awkward, Lotus Star, eventidespirit, Lady Lire Snowstorm, Judgement (Mathew- (x2), Blowfish the Monkey Tamer, and The Magician (a.k.a Josep._

_If you wish to, you are more than welcome to review. Hope you enjoyed this. I will try to get chapter four written as soon as possible._

_Thank you for reading chapter three._


	4. Chapter 4: Discoveries

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, or any of the medical jargon/conditions/procedures. I hope you enjoy the fourth chapter of the story.__

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Beast Boy stayed up all night in contemplation. Just as everything was starting make sense in the world, it had turned its back. He had no idea who he was or what his purpose was in life. A doubt began to creep into his mind of if his powers were real or not. For years they had been, he had saved countless of people, attended huge and lavish banquets with his teammates, he even talked with birds at his window. Now, whenever he looked at his hands when he was supposedly an animal, they were just human hands.

The green changeling tried to laugh off his epiphany, but all the facts were laid out before him. Starfire and Robin had unintentionally revealed to him that there was something wrong with his mind. It could have been anything of course, but then Robin took him to the zoo and none of the animals responded. To the boy this was an apocalyptic event. Even now, he found that for brief moments in time everything was a blur, he knew not what happened. A few times he found bite marks on his arms or paper being chewed in his mouth. It was terrifying.

A sudden panic descended on the boy as he thought about what life would be like if everything he had ever believed in were to turn out false. It would be akin to worshipping, to the point self-sacrificial obsession, a god of the world and be assured in body and mind that eternal bliss in elysian realms would be yours to cherish. Save, when you finally died, the realization of the falsity of your claims comes crashing down as a bleak desert is the only sight before you. Beast Boy felt lost as he began to travel the sands of doubt, not only in himself, but in the world at large.

He roughly pushed the thoughts of despair from his head and attempted to focus upon a joyful occurrence of late. With a quick search of his semi-darkened room he found himself gazing longingly upon a picture he had drawn not but fours days prior. The figures were drawn in a childlike manner, with stick figures and abnormally bright colors, but the image still resonated a feeling of finality and calm. Upon the paper were the Teen Titans, all with grinning faces; but instead of the normal five figures, a sixth was present in the group. Terra was grinning with the team, she was part of the team.

A slight smile formed on the changeling's face as he bathed in the warmth of his "family." Eventually, they would be that way. There would be no more villains or crime, just the team, in their tower, enjoying the presence of each other.

Suddenly, the boy's mind went blank, as the world around him blurred.

* * *

Victor Stone walked cautiously down the linoleum-floored hallway of the third floor of the institution. A nervous whistle came from his mouth as he began to near his destination.

Upon reaching the room, the man found a manila folder hanging onto the handle of the door. Victor grabbed the folder and began glancing over the contents of the pages. Slowly a doubt came into his head of whether or not he, a mere technician, could handle a patient for the weekend. He read carefully over the last paragraph before closing the folder:

_Do not at any time use blunt physical contact. If ever the patient appears to become aggressive and dangerous the best possible solution is to stand absolutely still and calmly talk to the boy. If this does not work, silently approach emergency button on wall. Do not make any sudden movements or loud noises, these will only act as catalysts for the ascending aggression in behavior._

"This is going to be fun," he quietly announced to the hallway.

Victor breathed in a final time before opening the door. He walked into the room with a bright pseudo-smile gracing his face, but it quickly disappeared.

Patient 11456783 was currently charging around the room with an irate expression plastered to his face. Every time he approached a wall, the boy would lower his head so that his face was parallel with the floor, and proceed to ram the top of his head into the wall. He continued this behavior countless times before he realized that he was not alone anymore.

With a low growl the boy began to charge at the man standing in front of the door. As he neared the figure, the patient brought the top of his head forward and braced himself for the impact. It was much harder then he anticipated.

Victor stared worriedly at the floor where the unconscious boy was currently resting. He knew he shouldn't have done it, but right as the boy was about to ram into him he had moved, leaving the door the only target.

The man brought his gaze up from the boy and searched the room until he found what he was looking for. He walked over to a hook built into the wall and took a white coat down from it. He proceeded then to carry the boy back to his bed and dress him in the jacket. Now he couldn't hurt himself or anyone else.

As Victor was adjusting the last strap on the jacket the door behind him opened. "Doctor Grayson?" a voice questioned the man.

The lab technician stood up and walked over to the puzzled girl. "I'm Doctor Stone." He stuck out his hand in greeting. "I'm filling in for Doctor Grayson this weekend."

The purple-haired girl took the man's hand and attempted a smile. "I'm Rae. Doctor Grayson had asked me if I wanted to help out for the weekend."

"Well, I'm no Dick, but I am better looking. So, if you still want to, I'd be glad to have your help."

Rae half-heartedly nodded her head at his comment. She was about to turn around and walk out the door but then she noticed the pleading look on his face. The man seemed to be in the same predicament as she and needed help badly.

"I'll stay."

* * *

Beast Boy sat up in his bed and yawned. He attempted to reach up a hand to his throbbing head, but found he couldn't make the movement. Curiously he looked down at his arms and found that they were crossed and bound around his chest. The boy tried countless times to pull his arms from their bondage. Eventually he lay back down on his bed in defeat.

"If you promise to behave we'll take the jacket off."

The green changeling instantly sat up in his bed, but laid back down as the throbbing in his head grew worse. He scanned the room from his position, and found two blurred figures. One of them was large and towering, the other was quite a bit shorter and had a blob of purple on what could be thought the head.

"Raven, Cyborg?" the green changeling spoke the names with doubt. What could be perceived as nods were performed by the blobs. Beast Boy let out a sigh at the sign of affirmation, then turned a questioning gaze on the two. "Why am I in a straight jacket?"

"You tried to attack Cyborg." The purple-haired girl's voice was refreshingly unnerving to the boy.

The green changeling sat up slowly so as not to cause his clearing vision to become distorted again. "When was this?"

"About ten minutes ago. I walked into your room and you were charging all over the place and ramming your head into walls. Then you charged at me and I let you hit the door," Cyborg explained to the boy. Upon seeing the look of sheer confusion on his friend's face, the half-robot turned to the girl. "I think we should give him his medicine now. Take him to the room and I'll join you shortly."

Raven nodded her head and helped Beast Boy from his position on the bed. It took her a few moments to stop the boy from attempting to escape, but once he had subsided she led him out the door.

* * *

Doctor Stone walked down the hallway with a hypodermic needle in one hand and a bottle of dopamine antagonist in the other. He uttered every prayer he knew trying to ensure a benign reaction from the patient. Four doors away from his destination, the lab technician found a hand on his shoulder.

Slowly he turned to see the owner of the hand and found a corpulent, balding doctor smiling nervously up at him. "Doctor Stone, I was wondering if you could run a quick analysis for me."

Victor stared hard at the man before answering. "I'm not working the lab this weekend."

"I know, trust me I know," the stubby man had to jog slightly to catch up with the doctor. "But this is dire not only for me, but for you also. Plus, the lab is booked with screenings and tests for the entire weekend."

"How does this pertain to myself?"

The man ran a hand over his balding head in a nervous manner. "You see, all of the doctors giving their patients the dopamine antagonists have found that instead of the illness receding from the mind of the patients, they all appear to be getting worse. From speaking with Doctor Grayson this past week, his patient is too. I am a bit worried that something may be off with the medicine we are giving them."

Victor nodded his head and found himself agreeing to run the tests. The doctor thanked him then ran off into one of the rooms to subdue his screaming patient.

* * *

"So Raven, think you can take this straight jacket off yet?"

The purple-haired girl glared at the boy while she fastened him into the chair. "No."

"Why not?" Beast Boy tried changing into his irresistible kitten, but found the double-binding to much of a barrier for his powers. Thus he was forced to attempt a sad and pleading face without the added use of whiskers and a tail.

"I was given orders not to release you from anything until after you get your medicine," the girl explained. "Plus, the less you are able to move, the less you talk."

The green changeling leaned his head back against the chair in defeat. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The results were printed in black ink on the page. Victor read over the paper again and again, then (when the words began to blur) would turn his gaze to the wall and shortly after return it to the paper. It didn't make sense. According to the diagnostic scan of the medicine, it was the exact opposite of what it should be. For the entire week doctors were giving their patients dopamine agonists instead of antagonists. Instead of combating the illnesses by blocking off one of the sources, they were increasing the production of the chemicals which produced their behavior. He reached over and picked up the bottle. It said it was a dopamine antagonist, there was nothing wrong with the labeling except that it didn't match the medicine inside.

Hesitantly Victor lifted the phone on the desk from its receiver and brought it to his ear. His finger hovered over the numbers as he contemplated whether to call or not. Eventually his conscious told him to call, his friend had a right to know along with the other doctors of the institution.

Doctor Stone tapped his fingers anxiously on the desk as he listened to the phone ring once, twice, three times. On the fourth he heard a click and then a groggy voice.

"Hello?"

The man placed a smile on his face hoping it would hide the nervousness in his voice. "Hey Dick. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Victor." A long yawn broke apart the man's sentence on the other line. After a few quick breaths he continued. "How are you."

Victor began to answer, but changed his words at the sound of his friend's voice. "Dick did I wake you?"

Another yawn fell into the lab technician's ear. "Yeah, but don't worry."

"Wait, Dick Grayson, insomniac extraordinaire, is still in bed at ten in the morning? Who are you and what have you done with Dick?"

Doctor Grayson chuckled at the man's comments. "Even an insomniac has to sleep. So what are you calling about. It has to be important or else you wouldn't be risking my life and your own."

Victor imagined the smile on his friend's face. It was a general rule Star had made that if Dick was on vacation the only calls he was allowed to receive were those of the utmost importance. "Oh, nothing much, I was just wondering if you had some extra dopamine antagonists lying around anywhere."

"Is that all?"

The lab technician stared down at the results of his test. He didn't want to ruin Dick and Star's vacation. "Yeah, that's all. There's a back up a mile long for this stuff, and I figured if you had a stash somewhere it could go a bit faster."

"In my old office, behind the filing cabinet against the wall. That's where the emergency stock is. Make sure no one sees you take some, I was supposed to have gotten rid of it when they moved my office."

Victor assured his friend that the secret was safe and then wished him a good weekend before hanging up.

* * *

Beast Boy tapped his feet impatiently on the chair as he gazed about the dreaded room. He decided that if his team wanted him to feel a bit more comfortable, they should decorate the room with as much flamboyance as possible or at least paint the walls something other than the standard off-white.

The green changeling flopped his head to the side and stared at the meditating girl. If he wasn't allowed to be comfortable, then neither was she. "Hey Raven, do you know any jokes?"

Raven shot the boy in the chair a malign stare. "I don't do jokes."

"Oh come on, you can't tell me you don't know a single joke. You hang out with me, there has to be one of my jokes that you remember."

The purple-haired girl turned her head away from the boy and continued on with her daily meditation. Just as she had gained a blank mind, a thudding and whimpering was heard from the seat to her side. Slowly she cracked open one of her eyes and saw Beast Boy throwing a slight tantrum in the chair. He was rapidly raising and then slamming his legs into the bottom of the chair and on his face was drawn a look of oncoming death. He had even managed a solitary tear.

Raven glared at the boy. "If I tell you a joke will you be quiet." Beast Boy nodded his head up and down. The girl sighed at what she was about to do. "What did the fish say when it hit the wall?"

Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Ouch?"

"Dam."

It took the boy a moment to piece together the joke, but once he had figured it out a steady stream of laughter poured from his lips and echoed about the room. In between the torrents of laughter he would utter, "I get it, dam, like the wall. Dam! Good one Raven. Dam!"

The girl shook her head at the easily entertained boy.

* * *

Doctor Stone entered into the room and found the patient laughing hysterically on the chair. After turning a questioning gaze to the volunteer she explained how she had told the boy a joke. Victor nodded approvingly at her work as he prepared the medicine.

Slowly he approached the boy and once he had him sitting still, proceeded to inject the medicine into the patient. As was instructed in the manila folder, Victor stepped back from the patient and watched to see if there were any signs of aggression. After ten minutes of pure calm, the doctor decided the boy was just fine.

11456783 watched eagerly as the man unstrapped him not only from the uncomfortable chair, but from the straight jacket as well. It was a great relief to be able to move his arms again.

Doctor Stone turned to the patient and held out his hand. "Do you want to go get some lunch?"

* * *

Cyborg and Raven trailed behind the green changeling as he led the way to lunch. Both exchanged curious looks as the boy walked right past the kitchen and headed for the elevator. Deciding not to contradict the boy's actions, the two Titans followed closely behind as Beast Boy walked from the tower and out into the surrounding grass.

The changeling stood for a moment outside the door then proceeded to change his form into that of a cow and grazed upon the vegetation of their island.

* * *

Slade Wilson leaned up against the fence barrier of the outer courts of the institution. He watched his patient Terra as she threw rocks with her "powers." A smile formed on his lips as he thought over the precise details of the ongoing treatment for the girl, the smile increased as he thought on how she was the easiest patient yet.

The doctor's attention was drawn away from the girl as he caught sight of patient 11456783 grazing in the grass. To Slade's uttermost surprise and satisfaction he noticed that Doctor Grayson was not with the patient. Instead the lab technician, Victor Stone, was standing anxiously off to the side. It was when he saw the boy catch sight of Terra that Doctor Wilson leaned over to his current nurse and instructed her to talk with Terra. The blonde-haired woman nodded her head at the doctor's instructions then proceeded onto the girl sitting on the pile of rocks.

"Hey Terra," she greeted the girl warmly.

Terra smiled up at the woman kneeling beside her. "Hello."

The nurse smiled back at the girl before turning her face to Doctor Wilson. He nodded his head at her. The woman laid her hand on Terra's shoulder. "Why don't you be a bit careful now. I know you can't control your powers and we don't want anyone getting hurt."

Terra stared incredulously at the blonde-haired woman as she walked away. No one knew that she couldn't control her powers, not even Slade. She thought on how the woman could have picked up on the fact, there was no evidence of her lack of control. Everything she did around other people was precise and perfect. It was only when the girl caught sight of 11456783 approaching her that she realized who the culprit was.

With a loud yell the girl stood up and brought her hands, filled with rocks, up over her head. She began to fling the rocks at the boy, but soon found herself turning in circles which sent the stones flying in all directions.

* * *

Beast Boy stood absolutely still as he watched Terra turn in circles through the air. Occasionally he had to duck in order to dodge a flying rock. She was yelling at him, it sounded like "You lied." or "Liar." whichever it was, he had no idea where the accusations were coming from. As far as he knew he hadn't lied to her about anything, in fact, he had been more honest with Terra than with anyone else.

Filled with a deep concern for his friend, the changeling began to approach her with his hands out as a friendly gesture. This motion, though, caused the girl to scream even louder with rage as she shot the rocks harder and faster around her.

* * *

All of the patients, doctors, and nurses had cleared the outdoor vicinity as soon as the girl had begun her tantrum. Unfortunately, a few people had been hit by the flying stones, some were even bleeding. The sight of the crimson substance caused a great commotion amongst the patients. Some screamed, others laughed, a few tried reaching out to touch it, but most scooted away from the said victims.

Outside, Doctor Wilson approached the raging girl cautiously. Once he was within reach of her arm, he stuck out his hand and gripped her own. She immediately halted in her throwing of rocks and turned a tear-streaked face to the doctor.

"I have control of my powers, I swear I do," she managed to choke out to the doctor.

Slade reached out his other hand and brushed a stray lock of her golden hair behind one of her ears. "My dear Terra, you've never had control of your powers. You don't have any powers to control."

The girl gaped at the man's words. Not only did he know that she couldn't control her powers, he was now implying that she had none. A rage rushed through her veins, but she found herself to weak to fight against the doctor. Instead, Terra brought her head up, laid it on his shoulder, and wept.

Doctor Wilson tenderly picked up the girl and walked back to the institution. On his way he passed Victor Stone trying vainly to pull 11456783 to the doors of the building. Slade smirked at the other doctor as he patted the girl's head in comfort.

* * *

All the green changeling could think about was how Terra had attacked him. He still didn't know what provoked her madness, but it mattered not anymore. The worse of it all was how Slade had so compassionately calmed her down. There was no longer any hope in the boy's mind that he and Terra could live happily.

Beast Boy spent the rest of his day in a semi-trance from these thoughts. When he played video games with Cyborg it didn't matter to him if he lost, in fact he felt better losing. At least that way something was right in the world. What was most alarming to the boy's teammates was the strange silence which surrounded him and the constant crestfallen look gracing his face.

It was only four in the afternoon when the changeling announced to his friends that he wished to retire to his room. They stared worriedly at him for a moment before complying to his wishes. The three walked up the stairs and down the hallway to his room. Once at the door, Beast Boy turned to his teammates.

"Thanks for hanging out with me today." With that he opened the door and began to walk inside. As he was closing the door, the green boy saw not his friends, but a tall African American man in a lab coat, and a short, gothic girl in baggy pants.

Beast Boy made his way quickly over to his bed and lay down. Crystalline tears began streaming down his face as he felt himself lose all control of his mind. Nothing was right anymore, nothing made sense. Everything he knew was now gone, and he was alone.

* * *

After locking the door to 11456783's room, Victor Stone told Rae that she was allowed to go home. He stood still and watched her walk away for a moment, then turned and walked briskly to the basement.

Something about the day's events bothered the man to no end. First the medicine and then the Terra incident. Last he checked on the girl, she was perfectly healthy and nigh recovered from her delusions.

A theory had been growing in the man's head all day, at the center of it was Doctor Slade Wilson. He had to know if all the things Dick had said about the man were true, if he was the monstrosity the young doctor painted the image of.

It took a good hour down in the archives to pull out all of the files for Doctor Wilson's patients. By the end of his collecting there were at least thirty folders on the old rickety table in the center of all the filing cabinets. Victor sighed at the thought of the hours this was going to take, then sat down and cracked open the first folder.

The year was 1979 and the institution had just opened. The founding doctors included Richard Constani, Christian Benton, Pamela Rolf, and Slade Wilson. The institution was opened as a haven for young adults and youth suffering from various mental illnesses. A new system was being used by the doctors, they had agreed that each doctor only handle one patient at a time. This way more individual attention was given to the patient.

Doctor Wilson's first patient was a young girl suffering from an extreme case of, what is known as, a paranoid personality disorder. The doctor had noted in his journal how the girl always crouched in the furthest corner from him and whispered of how everyone was out to kill her. She told him that she couldn't trust him or anyone in the institution. After three months of the same behavior slowly the notes revealed that the girl started to speak more openly with the doctor, she even agreed to sit in a chair right across from him. It was exactly a year after she had been admitted to the institution that Doctor Wilson signed the release form for her to go back to a normal life.

Victor read over the last pages again and found nothing suspicious, but as he was putting the papers back into the folder he noticed a newspaper clipping. The article was just a blurb but it told how the girl had, the night which she was released, gone home and hanged herself. A note was left on her desk exclaiming her dread of conspiracies against her life.

The next folder started a week after the death of Doctor Wilson's first patient. This patient was a 19-year-old male that suffered from schizophrenia. The notes about the case were similar to that of the girl in terms of the gradual ease into more social life, only this patient was in the institution for four years before his release was signed. Underneath this sheet was another newspaper clipping, this one stating that the boy went home, kissed his mother's cheek and then proceeded to go into his room and shoot himself in order to stop the voices in his head.

Doctor Stone read every folder on the table then sat back with a deep sigh. Out of forty patients twenty-five had committed suicide upon returning home, six were killed in hit and runs (of which the people spoke of how the victim had been "raving mad" and walking aimlessly about), and the remaining nine had been admitted to other institutions after being released.

He knew it wasn't solid proof, but it also wasn't all coincidentally linked to Slade Wilson. For the first time, Victor Stone found himself as suspicious and hateful towards Doctor Wilson as Dick had always been.

* * *

"Where are we Slade?" The frightened Terra turned pleading eyes on the doctor.

"You are going to stay in this room for a few days. I'll come and visit you once a day, but while I'm gone I want you to try and move these rocks." Doctor Wilson motioned his hand to the other side of the prison-cell like room. "You are not to move from your position here, it is against the rules to even touch those rocks with your hands. Do you understand?" Terra nodded her head at the doctor.

Slade Wilson stood from his crouched position in front of the girl and walked towards the door.

"Slade," the girl began. "What if I can't move them?"

Doctor Wilson smiled at the girl and then pointed to a corner of the room. "That's what that pile is there for." With that the man left the room and locked the door.

Terra stared across the cement floor and reached out her hands. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek as she found the rocks still laying sedentary on the floor.

_

* * *

_

_AN: Okay, sorry about taking a bit longer to write this, I hope it was worth it and everyone liked it._

_Also, The Magician (Joseph asked me if zoanthropy was a real mental illness, and I wanted everyone to know that indeed it is. It is a mental illness in which a person believes that they can change their form into that of any of the lower animals._

_Now I would like to give a warm thanks to my reviewers for chapter 3: Lady Lire Snowstorm, Lime Green, Judgement (Mathew, Blowfish the Monkey Tamer, The Magician (Joseph, and Lord Vaughan._

_If you wish to, you are more than welcome to review. Hope you enjoyed this. I will try to get chapter five written as soon as possible._

_Thank you for reading chapter four._


	5. Chatper 5: A New View on Life

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, or any of the medical jargon/conditions/procedures. I hope you enjoy the fifth chapter of the story.__

* * *

_

Star leaned up against the side wall of the room and watched as Dick's expression went from being perplexed to angered. He began to stand from his position on the bed but sat back down with a heavy sigh as he listened more intently to the voice on the other line. Every few moments he would raise a fist into the air to strengthen his argument then lower it back as he was transfixed again by the information being told. She watched him go between the two actions over and over again, until finally he stated his parting to the caller.

Dick sighed once more as he hung up the telephone. "Terra's been put into solitary confinement."

The red-haired woman walked across the room and sat next to the man on the bed. She wrapped her arms about his hunched shoulders. "How is Gar doing with it?"

"Victor hasn't checked on him since he locked him in for the night. But he did say he was pretty shaken up by the incident."

Star stared worriedly at the man in her arms. His forehead was etched with creases of stress and worry, while the bags underneath his eyes continued to increase each day. The weekend was meant to help alleviate the doctor of his troubles, instead it only worsened them.

"If we leave by six we can reach the institution by noon." Star smiled encouragingly at the man. He began to open his mouth in a half-hearted refusal, but was stopped by the woman's fingers pressing firmly against his lips. "You need to be there for your patient. We leave bright and early, no arguments." With her proclamation set, Star took the glasses from Dick's head and kissed him goodnight before turning off the light in the room.

* * *

11456783 sat cross-legged on his bed facing in the direction of the city. He found that if he concentrated hard enough he could see through the concrete wall and gaze upon the activity in the streets. There were cars and buses, some kids jump roping on the sidewalk, and every-so-often a rosy-cheeked woman would jog by with her golden retriever. The boy smiled at the image of the far off remembrance. Vaguely he knew he had experienced the scene sometime in his life, but nothing in his memory produced any affirmation.

Upon searching, the boy found his memory occupied primarily by images of men and women in white jackets and adolescents walking aimlessly around in grayish pants and shirts. Yet every once in awhile the picture of a blonde-haired girl would float across his eyes. There was something about her that made him smile. Vainly he searched through his memory, but eventually came to the decision that, like the city, she was but an image of some utopia never to be physically discovered.

His thoughts were disturbed by the subtle creaking of a door opening. Calmly the boy turned his head to see the source of the noise. He stared at the tall man for a few seconds. "Are you real?"

Victor Stone stood dumbstruck upon hearing the boy's voice. He wanted to answer, but found he couldn't respond. In the time the boy had been a patient at the institution he had never before spoken to anyone.

The lab technician stared anxiously at the boy hoping for him to talk again, but instead 11456783 turned his face back to the wall as if nothing had happened.

* * *

"Keep trying." The man squatted close behind the girl's hunched form.

Nodding at his encouragement, she reached out her arms one more time and pleaded silently for the rocks to float into her open hands. When she felt the lack of weight upon her palms, the girl brought her arms limply to the side of her body.

"I don't know what's wrong," she attempted to explain to the scolding man. "My powers have never malfunctioned like this before."

Slade Wilson brought his hand up and wiped the tears from his patient's face. A slight smile formed on her lips, but then fell as he laughed condescendingly at her. "What powers Terra? Have you ever truly moved the earth with your mind?"

The blonde-haired girl broke from his embrace and crawled away from the questioning man. "I have, I know I have. There was the hotel. I lost control for a moment and it began to fall. Everyone ran around screaming and panicked. Luckily we all escaped; but I know I caused that. It's why I'm here with you now," she hurriedly explained.

"No Terra, the hotel fell due to poor foundations. The builders and contractors were sued for millions of dollars; you had nothing to do with it. Do you want to know why you are truly here?"

Slowly the girl crept from her darkened corner. Slade smirked at the desperate look gracing her face. "You're here because you killed a woman then walked about in the streets ranting about powers."

The girl frantically shook her head from left to right. "I never did that, I would never do that."

"Do you know who the woman was, Terra?" Doctor Wilson stood from his crouched position and approached the girl with arms open wide as a sign of truth.

Terra continued to deny his accusations. "I didn't kill anyone. I would never do such a thing. My powers are for good, not ill."

"The woman was your mother, Terra. She tried to tell you what I'm telling you now. You have no powers." Slade gripped his patient's shoulders and spoke directly to her face. "When she told you, something cracked, you had to prove your powers were real, so what else was there to do? You killed her, cold-blooded murder."

"I have powers. I know I do," The girl ranted louder in order to drown out the man's calm voice.

"If you have powers, move those rocks. Hurl one at my head." The man forcefully turned the girl in the direction of the rocks. "Prove to me your powers are real."

Terra reached out her hands vainly at the rocks. Droplets of sweat began to roll aimlessly down her face as mentally she strove more and more to move the stones.

Slowly the truth dawned in the girl's mind as she stared longingly at the rocks on the ground. She began to doubt her powers and painfully allowed the man's accusations to shatter the truth she had known. As the realization of her past actions crashed down upon her, her legs gave way and the blonde-haired girl bathed the cold, concrete floor with her tears.

Slade Wilson cupped the girl's face and turned it to the back corner of the room. "You can free yourself of this burden." With his implication planted in the patient's mind, the doctor left the room and locked the door.

Terra stared for a moment at the corner of the room. She had, during the hours of solitude, explored the object, but only now did she fully understand its purpose and blessing. With determination flaring in her eyes, the girl raised herself from the floor, and approached the corner with a sorrowful smile playing on her lips.

* * *

Victor Stone sat erect in a chair situated directly across from the boy on the bed. The man had decided not to take his eyes off of the patient in the hope that perhaps he would talk again. Instead of witnessing this phenomena, the doctor had made himself subject to viewing the patient's wavering between psychosis and--what he assumed to be-- sanity. Currently the boy was testing his flexibility by attempting to bring his leg up to scratch behind his ear.

The lab technician brought his wrist up to his face. Twelve-noon exactly. He sighed as he changed into a more comfortable position in the chair.

Suddenly 11456783 halted in his lycanthropic activities and smiled at the doorway. "Hello."

Victor turned his gaze to the door and smirked as he saw Doctor Grayson standing flabbergasted at the boy's voice. Fortunately, the doctor was able to recover from his temporary paralysis much quicker then the lab technician.

Warily he approached the boy sitting on the bed. Reaching out his hand he stated a simple "Hello."

11456783 shook hands with the doctor then motioned for the man to sit in the remaining, unoccupied chair. Once the doctor was seated the patient continued his salutation. "How are you today?"

"I'm good," Doctor Grayson managed to answer. "Yourself?"

The patient thought upon the simple question for a moment before answering. "I feel like I've been freed from some sort of captivity, but at the same time, I am confused as to everything around me. I don't know your name, but I know I've seen you before." 11456783 smiled fondly at the doctor. "What is your name?"

Dick stared curiously at the boy and his newfound attitude. "My name is Doctor Dick Grayson. What-- "

"It is a pleasure to meet you Doctor," 11456783 cut in. "I am sorry, I dishonorably cut off your question. Please ask it," the boy held out his hand to show the doctor he was ready to listen.

Doctor Grayson nodded enthusiastically at the patient. "What do you remember?"

11456783's face became troubled at the man's question. Haltingly he answered: "My memory is blurred. Mainly all I can see are people dressed as yourself, doctors I now presume them to be, and then others dressed as I. The city also graces my mind. The memories seem so real, yet I don't believe I have lived them. Perhaps sometime in my past, pass all that has happened in the place we find ourselves now, I did wander the streets as my memory suggests." The boy spoke the last with a longing look in his eye and a sorrowful smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Dick leaned in closer to the boy's face. "Is that all you remember?"

"There is a girl," the patient began. "She has long blonde hair and beautiful, round blue eyes. Do you know who she is, doctor?"

"Her name is Terra."

11456783 nodded his head in a manner that suggested he was familiar with the name. "May I see her?"

Doctor Grayson turned his gaze to Victor who was shaking his head no. Upon returning his attention to the patient, a determination was set in the doctor's head. "I will make sure you can see her. While I do that, will you go with Doctor Stone and take your medicine?"

The boy nodded his head eagerly at the man then proceeded to walk over to the lab technician and wait for his command as to where to go.

* * *

Doctor Grayson appeared a man with a purpose. He walked briskly with his arms swaying slightly at his side and his face held aloft and observant to the activity around him. The sheer determination flaring from his eyes caused various nurses to clear from his path. Though the doctor allowed a smile to form on his lips for a brief moment as he passed Star in the hallway, but once she had passed his snarl reappeared.

He had journeyed the branching hallways and staircases in record time, arriving at the solitary confinement cells minutes after he had left for them. Dick slowed to a normal walking pace as he glanced at the names printed on the top of the sheets attached to each door. When he reached the third metal door on the right he stopped and removed the clip board from its plastic holder.

The patient was Terra Markov, born May 31, 1988. The standing diagnosis on the girl was schizophrenia, mainly consisting of visual hallucinations provoking the ideas of superhuman powers. Dick gazed over the sheet once more checking for any significant abnormalities. He found one as he noted there was currently (and never had been) any medication administered to the girl.

Before the young physician could search the information sheet in any more detail, a deep and hypnotic voice fell on him from behind. "May I help you, Doctor Grayson?"

Dick turned around with a start but composed himself as he glared at the man smirking down at him. "I was wondering if my patient could speak with Terra."

"I'm sorry Dick, she's in solitary confinement. I am the only person allowed in that room, and, in my professional opinion, the general meeting you wish to happen would only provoke harmful psychotic episodes." Slade Wilson's one eye shined with triumph as he spoke with the young doctor.

Doctor Grayson placed the clipboard back in its holder and turned to walk away from the man. Right before he took his first step, a sound akin to a person pounding two rocks together was heard from inside cell number 3. Dick turned a frightened, yet threatening glare on the one-eyed man leaning up against the door.

"She must be throwing rocks at the wall again," Slade responded calmly.

A cat-like smirk spread triumphantly on the doctor's face as he watched Dick walk away. Everything had worked perfectly.

* * *

"What exactly does this medicine do?" 11456783 questioned as he watched the needle descend upon the most prominent vein in his arm.

Doctor Stone smiled at the boy's intrigue, glad to finally be around a person ignorant to the procedures he was performing. "Well, this is called a dopamine antagonist," Victor explained as he slowly injected the fluid into the patient's vein. "An antagonist of any medicine is used to decrease the productivity or activation of certain chemicals in the body. Yours is used to block receptors for dopamine in the brain."

11456783 nodded his head at the man's words, but frowned as he discovered, yet again, he knew nothing about what was being told. The boy cocked his head to the side and watched the last drops of the medicine enter into his body. "So what is dopamine?"

"In medical terms, it is a compound called hydroxytyramine, which is produced by the decarboxylation of dopa, that is an intermediate product in the synthesis of norepinephrine" Victor Stone smirked at the dumbfounded look on the boy's face. "Basically it's a chemical compound formed in the brain that aids in communication between brain cells. Fluctuations of dopamine have been linked to various diseases. If the levels decrease significantly it can cause Parkinson's Disease (in which case a dopamine agonist is used to increase the levels); but if the levels increase, conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar, and multiple personality disorder can occur. Also, drug addiction is caused by an increase in, among other things, dopamine."

The boy sitting in the chair smiled in amazement. "Interesting, so I take it that whatever it is I have is caused by an increase in dopamine?"

"Theoretically," Victor conceded. "You have a fairly rare mental condition; therefore, it's pretty much experimentation and faith."

In normal circumstances Doctor Stone would have thought twice about revealing any information to a patient, but for some reason, he felt as if he had to tell the boy everything he could. Including, he found, the fact that Doctor Grayson was like a blind man in a closet of swords when it came to helping 11456783. Luckily, the boy seemed satisfied with everything he was learning.

The boy twisted the bottom of his gray shirt inbetween his fingers as he contemplated his next question. Finally, he decided that he would rather know the answer then be kept in the dark. With a nervous smile he turned to the man in the white lab coat. "What mental condition do I have?"

Victor Stone sat gazing at his hands for a few minutes after the question had been asked. "I believe that is something I am not entitled to tell you," the man answered. "It would be best if Doctor Grayson explained that to you."

The two found themselves sitting in a friendly and oddly comfortable silence. To the patient, an alliance had been formed which helped him discover the missing pieces to the puzzle of his mind; to the doctor, a medical miracle was within his sight. Their silence was broken by the sound of the door opening.

Both the men turned their attention to the doorway and found the red-haired nurse beaming at them. "Greetings."

Doctor Stone stood from his seat to greet the nurse. "Hey Star, can I help you with anything?"

"Actually, Dick asked if I could take the patient for an afternoon stroll," the woman explained.

The boy in the chair nodded his head, rose from his seat, and walked casually over to the woman. As the two left the room, 11456783 turned back and waved farewell to the lab technician.

* * *

Doctor Grayson stood with his hand half-raised to a wooden door with the name Doctor Richard Constani spelled out in royal blue, plastic letters. He sighed as the various outcomes of his visit ran through his head, the worst of which was a suspension from the institution on terms of unprecedented suspicions towards a respected and powerful doctor; the best was a full grant of his request. Dick figured he would be grateful to be lectured and then thrown out of the room. With a final heave he let his hand fall twice upon the door.

It took only a matter of moments before Dick found the door in front of him opened to reveal a homely, gray-haired man.

"Come on in Doctor Grayson," the man stepped aside and waved his hand for the young doctor to enter. After Dick had stepped into the room, the door was shut and locked behind him. Doctor Constani briskly walked to his desk and motioned for Dick to take a seat in a leather chair across from him.

The gray-haired doctor tried leaning back in his chair a few times before finally deciding upon sitting up straight and business-like. Dick smiled at the aging doctor and his antics, then opened his mouth to get the meeting over with as soon as possible. Yet before he could utter a word, the soft voice of Doctor Constani fell upon him.

"I've been meaning to speak with you Dick," the man began. "I am not sure how to put this, but--and I ask you not to take this in any alarming or rash manner--I'm dreadfully worried about Doctor Wilson."

Dick found himself immediately interested in the words of the man sitting across from him. "What are you worried about, Doctor Constani?"

A suspicion that both of them were concerned about the same thing began to grow in the young doctor's mind as he watched his respected mentor squirm uncomfortably in his chair from the question. The man started his answer, but then stopped a few times before he finally responded fully.

"Dick, you've told me that you have had suspicions about Doctor Wilson's 'methods' for some time now, correct?"

"That's right."

Richard Constani gazed guiltily down at his hands for a moment. "I never wished to believe you, for Slade has been one of my best friends and colleagues since pre-med. He's like Victor Stone for you, only I'm the elder of us. Well, I recently reviewed the work he's been doing on his latest patient, Terra Markov, and I can't help but think that he is purposely making her worse."

Dick leaned forward in his seat in order to more clearly hear the half-whispered confession of the old man before him. "In what ways?" He questioned.

"Did you know he has never given her medicine?"

"Yes, I noticed that while glancing over her sheets."

Doctor Constani nodded his head. "Yes, but did you also know that he has never run a single test voluntarily? I have to order the tests for him or else he completely bypasses them. What doctor would ever do that to his patient? Unless of course, they did not want their patient to heal." The man grew silent for a moment before pouring out a torrent of uncharacteristically heated words. "That is the conclusion I have reached. Slade Wilson no longer cares about helping those in need, all he cares about is causing the most excruciating mental anguish and then studying it for his own sadistic purposes. I no longer know the man Slade Wilson, I have lost my friend of over thirty years. And to what? Bastardly fascinations with pain and despair. I am utterly disgusted by it."

Dick Grayson sat in shocked silence as he played the man's outburst over in his head. He had just witnessed the most kind hearted, caring man admit that for once, he had come across a soul in which he no longer could find any innate goodness.

"Doctor Grayson, what was it you came here to talk about?" The old man smiled apologetically at the stupefied doctor across from him.

"I was wondering if I could have your permission to allow my patient to speak with Terra." Dick muttered.

Doctor Constani's face softened at the request. "Of course you can. But there are a few rules to follow."

* * *

11456783 found an incredible calm wash over his mind as he walked the various hallways with the nurse. There was something about her presence that freed the mind of all despair and dark thoughts. During their walk the boy had learned much information from the nurse, such as gardening tips, folk songs, and most interestingly how she had come over to America with her family when she was five.

The boy smiled back on a conversation he had found himself in with another patient, during which the boy had spoken constantly about how the cosmonauts were coming and the only safe place was Australia. He had had 11456783 intrigued and partially convinced to escape with him and flee to the continent, but then he noticed his clothing and understood that he too was mentally ill.

When the two finally returned to 11456783's room, they found Doctor Grayson pacing excitedly back and forth. He hadn't bothered explaining his overwhelming joy to them, instead he placed an arm on a shoulder of each and led them back down the staircases and to a separate corridor of tiny rooms.

The patient glanced around his surroundings and found them to be completely foreign. He turned a perplexed stare on the doctor. "Where are we?"

Doctor Grayson smiled and pointed to a door with a large 3 nailed under a small plastic shelf with a clipboard resting in it. "Terra is in that room. If you want, you can speak with her."

11456783 sprinted over to the door and pulled at the handle. A frown formed on his face as he discovered the door to be locked. The boy felt a hand on his shoulder as Doctor Grayson inserted a key into the lock. But before the man let the patient into the room he turned the boy to face the very end of the hallway.

"By the rules of the institution Star and I have to be in that room during your meeting. You are to leave the door either partially or completely open. If anything happens while you are in there, know that there is an emergency button on the wall nearest the door or you can run down to the office and get me. Do you understand the rules?"

The patient nodded impatiently at the doctor, then opened the door quickly as he watched the man walk away. Upon instinct the boy shut the door completely, but then, remembering the doctor's words, opened it a sliver.

"Terra?" the boy meekly called out. He scanned the darkened room but found no form or shadow of the girl. "Terra?" he repeated a bit louder.

When there was no response the boy began to walk the perimeter of the room for the girl. It wasn't until he reached the furthest corner that he ran into a hard mass on the floor. Slowly he knelt down and found the body of a slumbering girl with blonde hair. A smile formed on 11456783's lips as he reached out a hand and lightly shook the girl.

It was only after he had been shaking the girl increasingly harder for many minutes that an extreme fear overtook the boy. He gently lifted the girl from the ground and carried her to the middle of the room where the most light was collected.

The first thing he noticed was the unnatural maroon tint of her skin. From what he recalled of her, she was just pale, there was never any deep red color. The next observation the patient made was the rigid nature of her body, and the subtle lift of her arms out in front of her as if she was striving to raise something with her hands. The boy tried to lower her arms down to her side, but found that each time they would rise again into the same position. It was upon the fourth try of placing her arms that the boy felt a welt upon the girl's left forearm. He brought the arm up for closer inspection and found what looked to be a small pinprick surrounded by a bluish-red bruise. Suddenly the boy felt it imperative to feel the girl's wrist for a pulse, when none was found he vainly searched her neck.

11456783 stood from his position next to the girl and walked about the room again. When he reached the area where he had found her, he noticed a slight gleam on the floor. Reaching carefully down he picked up an empty syringe.

The boy rushed back to the side of the girl and picked her up in his arms. Feverishly he ran his hand over her face and her neck, down her arms, desperately searching for any warmth of the skin or subtle throbbing of the vein beneath the flesh. 11456783 brought his face down to hers and stared into horrified and pained eyes. The look frozen upon her face was one of pain mixed with shock and regret.

"Terra! Terra wake up!" the boy forced out between the heaving of his sobs. He grabbed her hand and began rubbing it hoping that somehow the gesture would produce warmth to spread through her body and for the muscles to function again to start her heart pumping.

"Terra, please wake up. Please…" he murmured a last time before breaking down into tears over her stiff body.

11456783 sat cradling the blonde-haired girl's body when the door opened completely. The boy averted his eyes from the death-marked face of the girl to see who was at the door. He turned expecting to see Doctor Grayson, but instead found himself staring into the single eye of Slade Wilson.

"What are you doing in here?" The doctor demanded of the tear-streaked boy.

11456783 laid Terra gently down on the ground then stood to face his enemy. "You killed her," he whispered in rage.

Doctor Wilson smirked at the boy's comment. "She killed herself."

"You're a liar."

Slade followed the boy's eyes as he stared at the red emergency button on the wall. The patient made a half-hearted leap for the object, causing Doctor Wilson to sprint over and cover it with his back. But while he did this, 11456783 bolted out of the door and began running down the long hallway towards the office.

Soon Slade was out in the hallway chasing after the boy. 11456783 turned to look back and yelped in surprise as he watched the doctor gain on him with every second. For some reason the boy found himself dropping to all fours like a dog, but when he noticed his speed decrease, he straightened back out and pumped his legs harder.

The boy reached the glass door and threw it open. He rushed in and found Doctor Grayson and Star sitting on a couch engaged in a deep conversation. The patient tried to open his mouth to talk, but found he couldn't; therefore, in order to get their attention he picked up the nearest magazine and chucked it at the doctor's head. It hit Star instead, but it still got their attention.

Before Doctor Grayson could question the boy's actions, Slade Wilson lurched into the room and turned a murderous eye upon the boy.

"Doctor Wilson, what are you doing?" Dick demanded.

Slade glanced at the young physician then back at the patient when he answered. "All of my research, all of my career and practices are ruined if I don't stop him now." 11456783 leapt away from the man's outreached hand and hid behind Dick.

The black-haired doctor stretched his arms out as a barrier for the boy to hide behind. "Slade, listen to yourself. What you're saying doesn't make sense. Just calm down."

Doctor Wilson lunged at Dick, but pulled back slightly as a loud buzzing sounded from the emergency button on the wall. The irate doctor turned his eye to Star and charged at the nurse. Right before he reached her, though, he found himself pinned to the ground by Dick.

Realizing his defeat, the doctor stopped his struggling. "I'm sorry," he stated. Dick loosened his grip slightly as he listened to the sincerity of the request.

A smile formed on Slade's face as he saw the first security guard show up for the call. With a loud grunt the man smashed the back of his head against Dick's face and leapt at the guard. Unfortunately, the guard was not quick enough to respond to the sudden outbreak and found himself knocked to the floor.

Doctor Wilson slammed the door shut and faced the three frightened people, gun in hand. With a triumphant laugh he starting shooting rounds off at the figures.

* * *

11456783 lay sprawled upon the floor, soaking wet. He let his eyes wander the room and found various doctor's and police officers. Between two of the officers was held the hunched form of Slade Wilson. A pained smile formed on the boy's lips as he watch the man being led away, but the smile soon faded as he continued his search and found the figure of the red-haired nurse cradling the head of Doctor Grayson in her arms. Beneath the doctor was an increasing pool of crimson blood.

The boy turned his head abruptly away and found himself fading into darkness.

_

* * *

_

_A/N: So…how was it? I'm really sorry for the length of time it took to write this chapter, I found this chapter the hardest thus far to write. But, thanks to it, I did get to see my firstsunrise since school got out. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the fifth chapter of the story and thought it well worth the wait._

_Now I would like to give a warm thanks to my reviewers for chapter four: eventidespirit, ZodiacFire, Judgement (Mathew, Mya Dawning, Blowfish the Monkey Tamer, and Lady Lire Snowstorm._

_In answer to ZodiacFire's questions: The inspiration to write this came from the discovery of what zoanthropy was and then researching it like mad until finally I came up with the idea to put Beast Boy in a mental institute. I have done a lot of research for the story, but to be honest, most of it was done before I even knew I was going to write this._

_Well, review if you want. Thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I will have the epilogue up hopefully by the beginning of next week._

_Thanks again for reading chapter 5!_


	6. Chapter 6: Epilogue

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, any of the medical jargon/conditions/procedures, or the quote by John Milton from his poem "Pardise Lost." I hope you enjoy the epilogue of the story. _ _

* * *

_

"This is Katrina Halona from channel 6 six news, and I am coming to you live from outside the court house where deliberations in the case of the state of New York against Slade Wilson are underway," a woman with ebony haired pulled back in a loose bun spoke into a microphone. "If you are just tuning in, Slade Wilson is being charged with numerous accounts of first degree murder, assisted suicide, and malpractice. Many here today are urging for two consecutive life sentences without parole, while others demand capital punishment. We send you now to our correspondent in the building."

The picture moved from the wind beaten woman to the front of the court house. It roamed methodically along the various Roman columns and carvings on the face of the building, swooped back down and slowly climbed the stone stairs, then settled upon the large wooden doors.

Suddenly the shot went from resting upon the outer doors of the building to framing a broad-shouldered man holding a microphone. He flashed a wide smile at the camera. "Thank you Katrina. This is Harden Smith coming to you live from right outside the doors where the trial against Slade Wilson has just heated up. Moments ago Doctor Drew O'Hare, a respected forensic pathologist, revealed to the court that during the autopsy of the young girl, Terra Markov, he found traces of a lethal dose of Potassium chloride. He went on to explain to the court that the dosage administered to the girl was equal to that which is given as the execution drug to death row inmates."

The man paused in his monologue, he had his left hand pressed against his ear and nodded his head at the words he was hearing. "I have just been informed that Sylvia Markov has left her seat and is approaching these doors." Upon the man's last words a middle-aged woman pushed open the large, wooden doors and walked out of the court room.

As she began to head in the opposite direction of the reporter, the man rushed after her. "Mrs. Markov! Mrs. Markov, may I have a word with you? Mrs. Markov!" It was only on the last scream of her name that the woman turned around and nodded solemnly at the man. The camera pulled in close to the woman's tear-streaked face and stayed there while the man asked his question.

"Mrs. Markov, is there anything you wish to say to Slade Wilson?" he inquired.

The woman wiped the tears from her eyes and stared hard at camera. "I hope you rot in hell a thousand years for every second I think about my loss. I want my daughter back."

* * *

The television screen went blank after the woman's comments. 11456783 lowered the remote back down to the table situated next to the bed. For his entire month and a half stay at the hospital he had watched every moment of the Slade Wilson trial. Everyone agreed he was guilty, but the courts had to spend equal time on each of his accounts. The latest being the suicide of Terra Markov.

A sigh escaped his lips at the memory of the blonde-haired girl.

"Are you ready to go?" The boy turned to face the doorway and smiled as he caught sight of Star. He nodded his head, picked up his duffel bag, and hurried to the door.

The two walked down the bustling hallway in silence. Occasionally they would have to split apart in order to allow a stretcher to be brought through, but they tried to stay side by side as much as possible. Suddenly the red-haired woman veered from their path and began to walk down another hallway in the opposite direction from the exit of the hospital.

"I forgot my purse," she quickly explained when the boy caught up. They journeyed the various hallways until they reached the intensive care unit. 11456783 watched Star as she instinctively walked to the fifth door on the left. The boy considered not following, but allowed his curiosity to sway him to enter.

He immediately regretted his decision as he found himself face to face with Doctor Grayson laying unconscious on a bed. There were tubes protruding from all over his body; various monitors were set up next to the bed, each beeping and buzzing as it relayed the data it was collecting; but most disturbing to the boy was the multitude of white gauze wrapped about the man's head and arms. The boy reached to his own abdomen and felt the bandage he had.

"Good Morning Star," a man dressed in a white lab coat greeted as he walked into the room.

The woman attempted a smile at the man as she responded: "Good Morning, Doctor Feder. How is he doing today?" Star asked while turning to face the man on the bed.

"In my opinion he is doing better. After monitoring him for the past few days, we have found that he performs exemplary without any aids in respiration; which means we will not have to perform the tracheostomy." The doctor smiled encouragingly at the woman. "With this improvement, I am also able to classify him as PVS instead of comatose."

11456783 turned from the conversation and strolled over to the bedside of the doctor. His eyes were closed as if in sleep, but there was a stillness and absence about the man which suggested otherwise. The boy placed his hand gently on the man's shoulder and smiled hoping it would help break the unnatural slumber. When nothing happened, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cream envelope. 11456783 turned to the table next to the bed, and placed the envelope to the side of a picture containing a laughing Star receiving a kiss on the cheek from Dick.

The boy gazed sorrowfully down at the man before walking back to the open door. He watched in pained fascination as the red-haired woman gently brushed a small piece of the unconscious man's black hair. With a slight smile she kissed his gauze-wrapped forehead then turned to join the waiting boy.

* * *

The boy sat tranquilly in the passenger seat of the jeep and laid his head against the window. He watched as cars drove by; people ran down the sidewalks to wherever the destination entailed; hot dog venders sold their newest creations to any poor soul; and for a short time, at a halt in traffic, the boy stared in fascination at a small game of baseball being played in a side lot. Everything seemed perfect, almost dreamlike in its reality, and that excited the boy because for once, it was real.

A slight sniffle to his side broke 11456783's concentration. He turned his eyes to the woman driving and frowned upon the radical change in her mien. No longer was her face eternally radiant and youthful, now dark circles formed beneath her eyes and her face was stained from the constant flow of tears she experienced each night.

"From what I heard, the doctor believes he will recover soon," the boy ventured in a pseudo-exuberant tone. "What did he say he was now, PVS? That has to mean something good."

Star shook her head at the boy's attempt. "PVS means persistent vegetative state," she explained lethargically. "All it means is that he can breathe on his own, but is still completely unaware to his surroundings. With the severity of trauma he received to his head, I doubt he will ever awaken from the state." The woman turned her face back to the road and allowed one more tear to stream down her cheek.

"Well, there is always hope. I mean, look at me," the boy waved his hands around himself like a showgirl.

The red-haired woman chuckled and gave in to the boy's comments. "Perhaps there is still hope." The two sat in silence as they journeyed down the various streets. "Do you still wish to visit her?"

"Yeah," 11456783 nodded at the woman's question. "More than ever."

Star reached down to the radio and turned the dial to a folk music station. The car filled with the rhythmic notes and tranquil harmonies as they traveled out of the city and down country roads. 11456783 turned back to the window and watched as trees began to sprout almost spontaneously into his view and hills of rolling emerald receded and grew like the waves of the ocean. The serenity of the surrounding milieu eventually lulled the boy to sleep.

* * *

A hand was pushing incessantly against his shoulder. "Wake up, we're here."

The boy sat up and stretched his arms out to the side. He yawned once or twice while allowing his eyes to regain their focus on the surroundings. Before him was a small hill covered in stone placards and statues. An enormous oak tree was settled in amongst all of the memorials, its falling leaves creating a blanket for those in their eternal rest.

Slowly he turned to the woman and smiled warmly at her. "Thank you, for all of your help." The boy hesitated a moment before continuing: "May ask you a couple questions."

"Of course you can," Star answered.

The boy nodded his head, "First I was wondering if you could tell me what I suffered from, and then how long I was in the institution."

"You suffered from a rare mental illness known as zoanthropy," the nurse began. "The illness causes delusions that one can change their physical and mental form to fit that of any of the lower animals. As for how long, three years." The woman turned from the boy and reached into the back pocket of her seat. Carefully she extracted a slightly tattered folder and pulled from it a piece of paper. "This is the signed release form for you. It states that you are officially cured and free to enter the world once more."

The boy haltingly reached out towards the woman, treating the paper as if it was a holy relic he was not worthy to take. He finally gripped the sheet and brought it close to his eyes.

A slight smile formed on his face as he read the document. "Garfield Logan, no wonder I thought I could become any animal; I was named after a lazy cat."

Star grinned at the boy's comment before advising him once more. "Once we're done here, there is a family waiting to take you in as a son and help you with anything you might have troubles with. Of course, you are eighteen and by law an adult, so the choice is all yours."

Garfield gazed at the woman before him, and even though it pained him, he knew that this first step was to be his alone. "I think I want to walk back there, have some time to think. Plus you need to get back to Doctor Grayson."

With his final request made, the boy opened the car door and exited the vehicle. But before he walked away he turned one last time to the woman. "No offense meant, but I hope I never see you again, Star."

"Vice versa," she simply replied as she waved good-bye and drove back down the road.

Slowly Garfield made his way through the maze of stones and holes until he reached a freshly laid mound of earth. He squatted down in front of an onyx colored headstone. Lightly he allowed his fingers to trail along the curves and lines of the letters as he read the inscriptions in a whisper to himself:

_Terra Markov_

_1988-2004_

_"The mind is its own place, and in itself,_

_Can make a heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven."_

The boy brought his fingers back to his lips then placed them once more on the headstone. "I'll never forget you, Terra."

Garfield stood from his crouching position and stared decisively around at his surroundings. If he took the right, he would find a home and a family with arms open wide; if he turned left, only uncertainty could be seen lying in the distant trees. Subconsciously he reached up his hand and flicked it through his hair. There was something alluring about the woods and the chance of spontaneity they offered.

With a smile plastered on his face, Garfield Logan took the first step down the path leading to his left. His mind told him it was the right choice; but then again, the mind is a dangerous thing.

_

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_

_A/N: I can breathe now, it is complete and I hope everyone liked it. If not, well, feel free to say, but I must warn you that it will not phase me because--for the first time in my life--I have completed a multi-chaptered story. Which means, I am currently sitting on the largest cloud known to man._

_Since this is the final entry for this story I thought I would thank my reviewers in a bit more personal way._

_Judgement (Mathew: I see you finally reviewed chapter five, luckily it was before this one was posted . I was, I will admit, very tempted to email you about more ways for people to die…but I decided I didn't want anyone else to die, at least not yet. Thanks for all of your reviews of my story, and your willingness to read and give your opinion about anything I sent you._

_Miserys haunted vessel: Thanks very much for your review, it honestly brightened my day when I read it._

_The Magician (Joseph: First off, thanks for the, I believe it was, three consecutive reviews of the story. You should be happy (maybe) to know that you are one of few to have reviewed every single chapter. I agree with you also on the point that Slade is crazy. Anyway, thanks for all of the reviews, and the "humbling" experience of making me continuously walk into to doors and fall on my ass._

_TigerHelix: Thanks for the review, I'm glad you thought it was sad…'twas what I was going for._

_Blowfish the Monkey Tamer: First off, I love the name. Secondly, thanks for reviewing, it was always great to read your reviews whenever I posted a new chapter._

_Eventidespirit: I just want to say that your reviews are the reason I love writing stuff and posting it. Every single review was uplifting to myself as the author because I could tell you liked my story, and I honestly loved reading your reviews each time. I must also mention that I am quite jealous of your internship at the lab studying Schizophrenia. Thanks again for all of your reviews._

_ssjEasterBunny: Thank you for reading my story, and also for writing such a great one yourself. I don't care what you say, yours is by far the superior. Anyway, I agree with you on ending with a crossroads, it just felt right. Not to mention, it left the doors of possibility wide open for any further developments for my favorite zoan._

_Hiyum: Thanks so much for reviewing my story._

_Airsurfer: I'm glad you like the story, and thanks for the review._

_Cryptically Bitter Sanguine: Love the name, it's awesome. Thanks for all of your reviews, they really made my day._

_I hope everyone enjoyed the final chapter of my first fanfic. Review if you wish._

_Thanks again for reading_

_Exiled-Knight_


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